The Prague 1 District Court gave two German tourists a one-year suspended sentence for spraying on the 14th century Charles Bridge, the oldest bridge in Prague, and expelled them from the Czech Republic for five years, court spokeswoman Pavla Hajkova has told CTK.

The perpetrators must also pay a 100,000-crown fine and cover the damage of 40,000 crowns each.

The two men, aged 23 and 30, were caught by police spraying a 5-by-2 meter logo on a stone bridge support. A local resident saw them in action and called the police.

Zdeněk Hřib, the mayor of Prague, condemned the act, saying that “spraying Charles bridge is a complete cultural barbarism”. The mayor also reminded that there were several places in Prague where it was perfectly legal to create graffiti.

Graffiti on national monuments is rare but not unknown: A Japanese tourist in December 2014 painted on an underpass that was part of the National Theater. In October 2014, a French tourist painted teeth and a tongue on the National Theater itself.

The Astronomical Clock Tower has also been damaged by vandals on several occasions.

Author: red