Palackého bridge
Palackého bridge is the fifth bridge over the Vltava river in Prague, the third oldest bridge and the third stone bridge in Prague. Its construction forced by the development of the industrial Smíchov in 1876. It was completed in just two years. The Neo-Renaissance style of bridge was created by the Czech engineer Josef Reiter and architect Frederick Münzbergr. The bridge measures 228 metres and is divided into 7 segmented arches. For its construction granite blocks of different colors were used. In the years 1950 – 1951 it was repaired and extended to 14 metres.
It is interesting that in the late 19th century the bridge was decorated with four sculptures by JV Myslbek with themes from Czech mythology. The statues, however, were damaged during air raids at the end of the war and were in 1945 they were transferred to the Vyšehrad Park. Here, the visitors can see them today. Previously there was the double-track line on the bridge and cars drove in one lane in one direction. Bridge was initially called Kamenný to Smíchov or Podskalský, but since 1878 it has been named Palacký Bridge.