Prague will celebrate the 669th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of Charles Bridge on Wednesday and Thursday with a series of historical events, lectures, and free museum activities.

The main celebrations will take place on Thursday, July 9, beginning before sunrise.

At 5:00 a.m., a ceremonial procession portraying Holy Roman Emperor and Czech King Charles IV, accompanied by his wife Anna of Świdnica, Bohemian knights, medieval squires, drummers, musicians, and soldiers, will depart from the Lesser Town Bridge Towers and make its way across Charles Bridge.

The procession will arrive at Křižovnické Square, where, at exactly 5:31 a.m., Charles IV will symbolically strike the bridge’s foundation stone. The ceremony recreates the precise moment when construction officially began on July 9, 1357, following the famous numerical sequence 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1, believed at the time to bring prosperity and good fortune.

After the reenactment, Křižovnické Square will host a historical and cultural program featuring medieval dances by Regii Caroli regis, traditional music performed by Řemdih, and appearances by the royal drummers and standard-bearers of the Fedrfechtýř group.

The day’s program will conclude with a 7:00 a.m. Mass at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, led by Grand Master Josef Šedivý.

Celebrations begin a day earlier, on Wednesday evening, when the Charles Bridge Museum hosts the symposium Under the Protection of Saints from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Art historian Jan Royt of Charles University will present a lecture on the saints represented on Charles Bridge, while Miroslav Smaha from the School of Old Dance will discuss royal symbolism on the Old Town Bridge Tower.

Throughout Thursday, the Charles Bridge Museum will welcome visitors with free admission from 5:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. Guests can also visit the museum’s Baroque café, which opens at 5:31 a.m., serving egg-based dishes inspired by one of the bridge’s best-known legends. According to popular tradition, eggs were mixed into the mortar used during construction to strengthen the structure.

The construction of Charles Bridge was commissioned after devastating floods in 1342 destroyed the earlier Judith Bridge, which had connected the banks of the Vltava River since the 12th century.

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