Prague Bridges

Table of Contents

Featured bridges - most popular on Prague boat tours:

• Charles Bridge / Karlův most
• Čech Bridge / Čechův most
• Štefánik Bridge / Štefánikův most

All other Vltava bridges (north to south):

• Troja Bridge / Trojský most
• Bulovka Railway Bridge / Železniční most pod Bulovkou
• Barikádníků Bridge / most Barikádníků
• Libeň Bridge / Libeňský most
• Negrelli Viaduct / Negrelliho viadukt
• Hlávka Bridge / Hlávkův most
• Mánes Bridge / Mánesův most
• Legion Bridge / Most Legií
• Jirásek Bridge / Jiráskův most
• Palacký Bridge / Palackého most
• Railway Bridge / Vyšehradský železniční most
• Braník Bridge / Branický most
• Braník Railway Bridge / Branický železniční most
• Barrandov Bridge / Barrandovský most
• Most Závodu míru / Zbraslav Bridge

Eighteen bridges cross the main Vltava channel within Prague's city limits - but that's really only part of the picture. Count in the footbridges, valley viaducts and smaller crossings scattered across the city's 22 districts and the total climbs above 300. Of those 18 Vltava crossings, fourteen carry road and tram traffic; the remaining four are pedestrian-only. Together they cover eight centuries of architecture and politics - built by kings, renamed by occupiers and in several cases knocked down and rebuilt from scratch. No two look alike, and the easiest way to see them all in sequence is from the river.

Prague's Bridges - A City Shaped by the Vltava

For almost five centuries, Charles Bridge was the only way to cross the Vltava in Prague - full stop. That changed in 1841, and the seventeen bridges added since have basically turned the riverfront into an open-air survey of European architectural history. Gothic stone, Art Nouveau ironwork, Historicist masonry, Functionalist concrete, communist-era Brutalism and 21st-century cable-stays - all within a few kilometres of each other. Čech Bridge is the only large Art Nouveau bridge in the whole country; Barrandov Bridge, at the other end of the aesthetic scale, is actually the busiest road in the Czech Republic.

This guide starts with the three bridges that show up on pretty much every Prague river cruise - Charles Bridge, Čech Bridge and Štefánik Bridge - then goes through all 18 Vltava bridges north to south. Each entry covers the Czech and English names, historical and alternative names, year of construction, dimensions, architectural character and address - plus a note on what each one looks like from the water, where you can take in the full sequence on a single cruise.

You can browse Alle Travel's full catalogue of Prague river cruises to find tours that pass beneath the bridges covered in this guide.

Charles Bridge / Karlův most

Czech name: Karlův most | Alternative names: Stone Bridge (Kamenný most), Prague Bridge (Pražský most) - both official names used before 1870

Named after Charles IV (Karel IV.), King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, who commissioned the bridge in 1357. For over five centuries it was known simply as the Stone Bridge or the Prague Bridge - the name Karlův most only became official in 1870. The foundation stone was laid on 9 July 1357 at 5:31 AM - a date and time picked by the king's court because the digits form the palindrome 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1, which is pretty widely read as an act of astrological symbolism.

Built between 1357 and 1402 under Petr Parléř, replacing the earlier Judith Bridge (Juditin most) that got destroyed by floods in 1342. Charles Bridge is the oldest surviving bridge in Prague - 1st by age - and the oldest stone bridge in Bohemia. It's lined with 30 Baroque statues and sculptural groups added between 1683 and 1714. The National Heritage Institute lists it as a National Cultural Monument. The originals of most statues are held at the Lapidarium of the Museum of the City of Prague. It's the 10th bridge from the north.

• Year of construction: 1357-1402
• Order by age: 1st - oldest surviving bridge in Prague
• Order by position: 10th from the north
• Length: 515.8 m
• Width: 9.5 m
• Number of arches: 16
• Material: Sandstone
• Architect: Petr Parléř
• Architectural style: Gothic (structure and towers) + Baroque (statuary)
• Address: Karlův most, 110 00 Praha 1 - Staré Město (right bank) / Malá Strana (left bank)
• Nearest metro: Staroměstská (line A)

Architecture & style: Gothic (structure and towers) layered with Baroque (statuary). The bridge itself is pure High Gothic - the proportions, pointed cutwaters and sandstone construction all belong to Parléř's workshop, the same atelier responsible for St. Vitus Cathedral. The 30 Baroque statues added over the following century create a kind of architectural palimpsest - two very different periods occupying the same structure. And the Gothic towers at both ends - the Old Town Bridge Tower and the twin Malá Strana towers - are among the finest examples of Gothic civic architecture anywhere in Central Europe.

Particulars: Charles Bridge is the only bridge in Prague reserved exclusively for pedestrians. The statue of St. John of Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký), installed in 1683, carries a bronze relief that's been rubbed smooth by millions of hands - local tradition holds that touching it guarantees a return to Prague, which is probably why the queue for it never really stops.

See Charles Bridge from the water - popular boat tours on Alle Travel

Every Prague river cruise passes directly beneath the 16 medieval sandstone arches of Charles Bridge - it's one of those moments that pretty much everyone remembers from any Vltava trip. Cruises where you'll see it up close:

• 1-Hour Cruise on the Devil's Channel
• 2-Hour Lunch Cruise on the Vltava River
• 3-Hour Evening Dinner Cruise

For the full selection of cruises and operators passing Charles Bridge, see the Charles Bridge boat tours overview on Alle Travel.

Čech Bridge / Čechův most

Czech name: Čechův most | Alternative names: Franz-Joseph Bridge (Františko-josefský most) - pre-1918 name; Mendelův most - under Nazi occupation, 1940-1945

Named after the Czech writer, journalist and poet Svatopluk Čech (1846-1908), a leading figure of Czech national literature. During the Nazi occupation (1940-1945), the bridge was renamed Mendelův most - after Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), the Moravian-born scientist of German descent who founded modern genetics.

Built between 1905 and 1908 as part of the inner ring road expansion - carried out at the same time as the large-scale demolition of part of the former Jewish ghetto, now the Josefov district. It's the only bridge in Prague built in the Art Nouveau style. Its sides carry female figures holding torches; at both ends, four pillars are crowned with genii (benevolent spirits) alongside six-headed hydra sculptures guarding the Prague coat of arms. It's the 5th oldest by current structure and the 7th from the north.

• Year of construction: 1905-1908
• Order by age: 5th oldest bridge (current structure)
• Order by position: 7th from the north
• Length: 169 m
• Width: 16 m
• Number of arches: 3
• Architect: Jan Koula, Jiří Soukup
• Architectural style: Art Nouveau - the only fully Art Nouveau bridge in Prague
• Address: Čechův most, Praha 1 / Praha 7
• Nearest metro: Staroměstská (line A)

Architecture & style: Art Nouveau - the only fully Art Nouveau bridge in Prague and one of the most ornate in Central Europe. Designed by Jan Koula and Jiří Soukup, the bridge uses cast-iron construction throughout with organic ornamental motifs basically everywhere: curved lamp posts, figural sculpture in the round, relief panels and decorative pylons at both ends topped with allegorical groups. The visual programme references the natural world (water, torchlight, mythical creatures) and civic pride (the Prague coat of arms) - which makes it as much a piece of public sculpture as a bridge.

Particulars: Čech Bridge connects Nábřeží Edvarda Beneše on the Letná embankment (left bank) to Pařížská Street - Prague's main luxury shopping boulevard - on the right bank. The detailed ironwork, decorative lamp posts and figural sculptures make it a proper landmark on its own terms, not just a crossing point.

See Čech Bridge from the water - boat tours on Alle Travel

• 2-Hour Daytime Sightseeing Cruise
• 1 or 2-Hour Sightseeing Cruise - Day or Evening
• 1-Hour Cruise on the Devil's Channel

Štefánik Bridge / Štefánikův most

Czech name: Štefánikův most | Alternative names: Stefanik Bridge (without diacritics); original 1868 structure known as Franz-Joseph Bridge

Named after Milan Rastislav Štefánik (1880-1919), Slovak astronomer, aviator, diplomat and general - one of the three founding fathers of Czechoslovakia, alongside Tomáš Masaryk and Edvard Beneš. Štefánik died in a plane crash near Bratislava on 4 May 1919, just months after the republic was founded - and the bridge was named in his memory shortly after.

The original bridge here was completed in 1868 - Prague's first permanent iron bridge, built during the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I. The current structure was completely rebuilt between 1949 and 1951 following wartime damage. By original site date it's actually the oldest bridge location in Prague after Charles Bridge (1868), though the current structure only dates to 1951. It's the 8th bridge from the north.

• Year of construction: 1868 (original); rebuilt 1949-1951 (current structure)
• Order by age: Oldest site after Charles Bridge (1868); current structure among youngest (1951)
• Order by position: 8th from the north
• Length: 257.6 m
• Width: 18 m (widest of the central bridges)
• Architectural style: Functionalist (current 1951 structure)
• Address: Štefánikův most, Praha 1 / Praha 7
• Nearest metro: Staroměstská (line A)

Architecture & style: Functionalist (current 1951 structure). The post-war rebuild made no concession to ornament at all - wide carriageway, plain concrete parapets, utilitarian lamp standards. Its main architectural interest is really just its scale: at 18 metres wide, it functions more like a linear urban plaza than a conventional bridge crossing, with generously wide pedestrian pavements on both sides of the road and tram lanes.

Particulars: Štefánik Bridge carries both road traffic and one of Prague's busiest tram corridors - it connects the Old Town embankment toward nám. Jana Palacha (right bank) to the Letná embankment (left bank). The sightline south from the bridge centre takes in the Rudolfinum, the Old Town roofline and an unobstructed view toward Charles Bridge - which makes it a pretty popular early-morning photography spot before the embankment fills up.

See Štefánik Bridge from the water - boat tours on Alle Travel

• 1 or 2-Hour Sightseeing Cruise - Day or Evening
• Tiki Boat - The Floating Bar

Troja Bridge / Trojský most

Czech name: Trojský most | Alternative names: Troja Footbridge; predecessor: Troja Iron Bridge (1928, demolished)

Named after the Troja district on the right bank - a residential neighbourhood on the northern edge of the city, best known for Troja Palace (Trojský zámek), a Baroque summer residence built for the Sternberg family in the 1680s, and for Prague Zoo (Zoologická zahrada Praha), one of the most-visited attractions in the Czech Republic.

The current Trojský most is a cable-stayed pedestrian and cycling bridge completed in 2014, designed by structural engineer Jiří Straský - it replaced an earlier iron bridge from 1928. It's the northernmost of Prague's 18 main Vltava bridges - 1st from the north.

• Year of construction: 2014 (current structure); predecessor 1928
• Order by age: Newest bridge in Prague's main bridge sequence
• Order by position: 1st from the north - northernmost bridge in Prague
• Length: ~200 m
• Type: Pedestrian and cycling bridge
• Architectural style: Contemporary cable-stayed / post-tensioned concrete
• Architect / Engineer: Jiří Straský
• Address: Trojský most, Praha 7 / Praha 8 (Troja)
• Nearest transport: Tram stop Trojský most; bus to Prague Zoo

Architecture & style: Contemporary cable-stayed / post-tensioned design. The bridge is built in high-strength concrete with slender cable stays fanning from a single asymmetric pylon - a structural form that gets a lot of visual lightness out of minimal material. The engineering logic is basically right there in the finished form, which makes it one of the more architecturally coherent modern bridges in the city. The contrast with the masonry and ironwork of the central historic bridges is pretty stark - and that's deliberate.

Particulars: Troja Bridge marks the northern limit of the standard Vltava cruise zone - it connects Stromovka park (left bank) to the Troja embankment (right bank). From the water, the cable stays form a geometric frame over the river with Troja Palace visible on the tree-covered hillside behind. Longer boat tour routes pass underneath before turning south back toward the city centre.

Bulovka Railway Bridge / Železniční most pod Bulovkou

Czech name: Železniční most pod Bulovkou | Alternative names: Holešovice Railway Bridge, Bulovka Rail Bridge

Named after the Bulovka locality on the boundary of Libeň and Holešovice - an area known mainly for the Bulovka University Hospital (Nemocnice Na Bulovce), one of Prague's largest medical facilities. The bridge carries the single-track railway line connecting Praha Holešovice station with the Rokytka-Libeň freight and passenger network.

• Year of construction: 1976
• Order by position: 2nd from the north
• Length: 310 m
• Type: Single-track railway bridge
• Architectural style: Structural Modernism - pre-stressed concrete
• Address: Železniční most pod Bulovkou, Praha 7 / Praha 8

Architecture & style: Pre-stressed concrete construction, functional and unornamented in the late-socialist engineering tradition. Along with Barrandov Bridge, it's one of only two bridges in Prague that cross the Vltava at an oblique diagonal angle - a necessity imposed by the track geometry of the railway lines it connects.

Particulars: A specialist infrastructure crossing, not accessible to pedestrians and not really a tourist destination. But it is visible from the river on northbound Vltava cruises heading toward Troja - it's part of the industrial character of the upper northern stretch before the river opens out into the Troja and Stromovka landscape.

Barikádníků Bridge / most Barikádníků

Czech name: most Barikádníků | Alternative names: Bridge of the Barricade Fighters; original 1928 structure known as Trojský most (Troja Bridge)

Named to commemorate the participants in the Prague Uprising of 5-8 May 1945, when Prague citizens built street barricades in the final days of the Nazi occupation. The original bridge here opened on 29 October 1928 under the name Trojský most - one of two major bridges inaugurated on the same day as Libeňský most. It got renamed most Barikádníků in 1946 in memory of those who fell at the barricades nearby. The current, substantially wider structure replaced it in the late 1970s as part of the north-south arterial road programme; the lower parts of the original river pillars were kept to water level and built upon.

• Year of construction: 1928 (original Trojský most); current structure late 1970s
• Order by position: 3rd from the north
• Architects of current structure: Karel Dobrovolský (engineer), Jiří Trnka (architect)
• Architectural style: Late Socialist Functionalism - wide concrete carriageway
• Daily traffic: ~57,000 vehicles (2024)
• Address: most Barikádníků, Praha 7 (Holešovice) / Praha 8 (Libeň)

Architecture & style: Late Socialist Functionalism - a wide multi-lane concrete bridge designed as part of Prague's north-south trunk road, prioritising traffic capacity over aesthetics pretty decisively. The broad carriageway and plain concrete parapets are consistent with the infrastructure planning priorities of the 1970s. There's a small plaque on the bridge commemorating those who fell at the barricades on the site in 1945.

Particulars: Barikádníků Bridge is the main arterial crossing connecting Holešovice (left bank) with Libeň (right bank) and onward toward the D8 motorway to Dresden. From the river it reads as a substantial concrete overpass - not visually remarkable, but contextually significant as a memorial crossing.

Libeň Bridge / Libeňský most

Czech name: Libeňský most | Alternative names: Liben Bridge (without diacritics)

Named after the Libeň district on the right bank - historically an independent town incorporated into Prague in 1901, with a strong working-class and industrial identity. Built between 1924 and 1928, designed by František Mencl and Pavel Janák, and inaugurated on the same day as the original Barikádníků Bridge on 29 October 1928.

• Year of construction: 1924-1928
• Order by position: 4th from the north
• Length: ~384 m (main span); ~780 m total including approaches
• Width: 26 m
• Architect: František Mencl, Pavel Janák
• Architectural style: Rondocubist / Art Deco
• Address: Libeňský most, Praha 7 (Holešovice) / Praha 8 (Libeň)

Architecture & style: Rondocubist / Art Deco - distinctive stone pylons with geometric relief decoration, an approach associated with the Czech national style of the early First Republic period. Pavel Janák was one of the leading figures of Rondocubism and the bridge's pylons and decorative detailing reflect his characteristic vocabulary of rounded, richly ornamented forms. At 780 metres total including approach viaducts, it's the longest bridge structure in Prague.

Particulars: Libeň Bridge carries road and tram traffic between Holešovice and Libeň. Its Rondocubist pylons are among the most architecturally distinctive features of any bridge in the northern part of the city - a deliberate assertion of Czech national style in the republic's tenth anniversary year.

Negrelli Viaduct / Negrelliho viadukt

Czech name: Negrelliho viadukt | Alternative names: Negrelli Bridge, Negrelli Railway Viaduct

Named after Alois Negrelli von Moldelbe (1799-1858), an Austrian engineer of Italian origin best known as one of the main designers of the Suez Canal. Negrelli was responsible for the technical planning of the Prague-Dresden railway line, of which this viaduct formed a critical section - and the structure was named after him at its inauguration in recognition of that.

• Year of construction: 1846-1850
• Order by age: 2nd oldest bridge structure in Prague (after Charles Bridge)
• Order by position: 5th from the north
• Total length: ~1,100 m
• Width: 7.6 m
• Arches over the Vltava: 8 (of 87 total arches)
• Material: Granite masonry
• Type: Railway viaduct
• Architectural style: Neo-Romanesque / industrial masonry - 19th-century railway engineering
• Major renovation: 2017-2021
• Address: Negrelliho viadukt, Praha 1 / Praha 7 (Holešovice / Bubny)
• Nearest metro: Florenc (lines B and C); Masarykovo nádraží (line B)

Architecture & style: Neo-Romanesque / industrial masonry. The viaduct is built from granite blocks across 87 arches - a feat of 19th-century craftsmanship that needed over 3,000 workers and early steam-powered lifting equipment to pull off. Eight of those arches span the main Vltava channel; the rest carry the structure across roads, streets and secondary watercourses on both banks. The 2017-2021 restoration kept the original design and masonry intact while upgrading the track infrastructure underneath.

Particulars: The Negrelli Viaduct is the second oldest bridge structure in Prague and the third longest in the Czech Republic. It connects Masarykovo nádraží in the New Town with Praha Bubny station in Holešovice - a route that was part of the original Prague-Olomouc-Dresden railway axis. From the Vltava, the granite arches read as a low, repetitive masonry arcade crossing the river - probably one of the most historically significant engineering views on the whole waterway.

Hlávka Bridge / Hlávkův most

Czech name: Hlávkův most | Alternative names: Hlavka Bridge (without diacritics)

Named after Josef Hlávka (1831-1908), Czech architect, builder and philanthropist - the founder and first president of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts (Česká akademie věd a umění). Hlávka spent much of his considerable fortune funding Czech cultural, scientific and social institutions at a time when Czech public life was pretty constrained under Habsburg rule. The bridge was named in his honour shortly after he died.

Built between 1909 and 1912 - it spans the main Vltava channel and a side arm across three sections, with two lateral pedestrian walkways with decorative ironwork lamp posts. It's the 6th bridge from the north.

• Year of construction: 1909-1912
• Order by position: 6th from the north
• Length: 335 m
• Width: 16 m
• Architectural style: Late Historicist, transitional toward Art Nouveau
• Address: Hlávkův most, Praha 1 / Praha 7
• Nearest metro: Florenc (lines B and C)

Architecture & style: Late Historicist, transitional toward Art Nouveau. Stone-faced piers carry two separate lateral pedestrian walkways with decorative ironwork lamp posts - a detail that gives the bridge a more refined character than its Functionalist successors. The overall composition sits somewhere between the full ornamental richness of Čech Bridge and the plain utility of the post-war structures - restrained, but not completely indifferent to appearance.

Particulars: Hlávka Bridge connects Nábřeží Ludvíka Svobody in Nové Město (right bank, near Florenc) to Nábřeží kapitána Jaroše in Holešovice (left bank). From the river, it's basically the last clear sightline back toward the Old Town skyline before the panorama shifts northward toward the industrial and residential districts of Holešovice.

Mánes Bridge / Mánesův most

Czech name: Mánesův most | Alternative names: Manes Bridge (English spelling variant)

Named after Josef Mánes (1820-1871), one of the most celebrated Czech painters of the National Revival period - best known for his depictions of Czech folk life and for the hand-painted calendar ring on Prague's Astronomical Clock, which is probably one of the most reproduced works of Czech visual art. The bridge was named in his honour at its inauguration.

Built between 1911 and 1916 to a design by architect Antonín Balšánek. It's the 6th oldest bridge by current structure and the 9th from the north.

• Year of construction: 1911-1916
• Order by age: 6th oldest bridge (current structure)
• Order by position: 9th from the north
• Length: 186 m
• Width: 16 m
• Number of arches: 3
• Architectural style: Art Nouveau / Late Historicist
• Address: Mánesův most, Praha 1
• Nearest metro: Staroměstská (line A)

Architecture & style: Art Nouveau / Late Historicist. Stone-faced piers with Art Nouveau lamp posts and restrained decorative ironwork - more sober than Čech Bridge but in the same broadly ornamental tradition. The overall composition is horizontal and elegant, designed to complement the Rudolfinum's Neo-Renaissance façade visible from the right bank approach.

Particulars: Mánes Bridge connects Malostranské nábřeží (Malá Strana, left bank) to nábřeží Jana Palacha in Staré Město (right bank), directly opposite the Rudolfinum - home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Looking south from the bridge centre, Charles Bridge and Prague Castle align on a single axis - it's one of those compositions that turns up in practically every photography guide to Prague.

Legion Bridge / Most Legií

Czech name: Most Legií | Alternative names: Emperor Franz Joseph I Bridge (Císařský most Františka Josefa I.) - official name until 1918; Smetana Bridge (Smetanův most) - under Nazi occupation, 1940-1945; May 1st Bridge (Most 1. máje) - 1960-1990

Named after the Czechoslovak Legions (Československé legie) - the military formations that fought on the Eastern, Western and Italian fronts during World War I to secure Allied recognition of an independent Czechoslovak state. The bridge's original name honoured Emperor Franz Joseph I; it was renamed Most Legií when Czechoslovakia was founded in 1918.

Built between 1898 and 1901 - it's the 3rd oldest bridge in Prague by current structure. Uniquely among the central Prague bridges, it spans the Vltava in two sections, passing through Střelecký ostrov (Shooters' Island) which divides the river at this point. It's the 11th bridge from the north.

• Year of construction: 1898-1901
• Order by age: 3rd oldest bridge (current structure)
• Order by position: 11th from the north
• Length: 343 m
• Width: 16 m
• Architectural style: Late Historicist / Neo-Baroque and Art Nouveau
• Address: Most Legií, Praha 1
• Nearest metro: Národní třída (line B)

Architecture & style: Late Historicist / Neo-Baroque and Art Nouveau. Steel arch spans are combined with stone-clad pylons and decorative wrought-iron railings - typical of the grand civic engineering of the late Habsburg period. The stone detailing on the pylons carries relief panels and lamp brackets - more restrained than Čech Bridge but in the same tradition of bridges conceived as urban monuments rather than purely functional crossings. The two toll booth towers at each end have been kept as decorative landmarks.

Particulars: Legion Bridge connects Smetanovo nábřeží (right bank, directly in front of the National Theatre) to Újezd in Malá Strana (left bank) - it gives you the closest river-level view of the National Theatre's gilded roof. And Střelecký ostrov - the island you can access from the bridge midpoint - has a seasonal beer garden in summer that does pretty well.

Jirásek Bridge / Jiráskův most

Czech name: Jiráskův most | Alternative names: Jirasek Bridge

Named after Alois Jirásek (1851-1930), Czech novelist and playwright - probably the most widely read author of Czech historical fiction. His novels about the Hussite period, Habsburg oppression and Czech national legends were formative texts during the First Republic. The bridge was named shortly after he died in 1930.

Built between 1929 and 1933, Jirásek Bridge was the first bridge in Prague built entirely in reinforced concrete, without decorative stone facing - a deliberately Functionalist design that was actually pretty progressive for its time. It's the 7th oldest bridge by current structure and the 12th from the north.

• Year of construction: 1929-1933
• Order by age: 7th oldest bridge (current structure)
• Order by position: 12th from the north
• Length: 310 m
• Width: 16 m
• Architectural style: Functionalist / Constructivist
• Address: Jiráskův most, Praha 2 / Praha 5
• Nearest metro: Karlovo náměstí (line B)

Architecture & style: Functionalist / Constructivist. Jirásek Bridge was the first bridge in Prague built entirely in exposed reinforced concrete - no decorative stone facing, no ornamental railings, no figural sculpture. Its horizontal lines, flat parapet and total absence of ornament were a deliberate architectural statement - basically a clean break from the historicist and Art Nouveau bridges that came before. The structural logic is right there in the finished form.

Particulars: Jirásek Bridge connects Rašínovo nábřeží and Jiráskovo náměstí in Nové Město (right bank) to Smíchov (left bank). It sits right next to the Dancing House (Tančící dům / Fred & Ginger) - the deconstructivist building by Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunić completed in 1996. From the river, the spare concrete geometry of the bridge and the organic curves of the Dancing House appear side by side - it's one of those architectural contrasts that ends up in practically every Prague photography guide.

Palacký Bridge / Palackého most

Czech name: Palackého most | Alternative names: Palacky Bridge

Named after František Palacký (1798-1876), Czech historian, politician and central figure of the Czech National Revival - referred to as the Otec národa (Father of the Nation). Palacký died in 1876, the year construction began, so the bridge was named in his immediate memory - and it's been Palackého most ever since, with no recorded renaming under Habsburg or Nazi administration. That's actually fairly unusual for a central Prague bridge.

Built between 1876 and 1878, Palacký Bridge is the 2nd oldest bridge in Prague in its original form. It was originally decorated with four monumental sculptural groups by Josef Václav Myslbek - the same sculptor who did the St. Wenceslas monument on Václavské náměstí - depicting legendary Czech figures: Libuše and Přemysl, Lumír and Píseň, Záboj and Slavoj and Ctirad and Šárka. All four were damaged during Allied bombing in February 1945 and subsequently moved to Vyšehrad park, where they can still be seen today. It's the 13th bridge from the north.

• Year of construction: 1876-1878
• Order by age: 2nd oldest bridge in Prague (current structure)
• Order by position: 13th from the north
• Length: 251 m
• Width: 16 m
• Architectural style: Neo-Gothic / Historicist
• Address: Palackého most, Praha 2 / Praha 5
• Nearest metro: Palackého náměstí (line B)

Architecture & style: Neo-Gothic / Historicist. Stone-faced piers with pointed cutwaters, cast-iron railings with Gothic tracery motifs and decorative lamp posts consistent with the civic architecture of the late Habsburg era. The bridge belongs to the same stylistic current as the National Theatre and the National Museum - a deliberate assertion of Czech cultural identity through monumental stone construction.

Particulars: Palacký Bridge connects Palackého náměstí in Nové Město (right bank) to Smíchov (left bank). From the river, it marks the transition between central Prague and the quieter residential south. Looking north, the full sequence of central bridges unfolds ahead; look south and the Vyšehrad rock closes the panorama - a view that most visitors never actually get from land.

Railway Bridge / Vyšehradský železniční most

Czech name: Vyšehradský železniční most | Alternative names: Vyšehrad Railway Bridge, South Railway Bridge

Named after the Vyšehrad rock - the ancient fortress rising on the promontory directly above the bridge on the right bank. Vyšehrad (from Czech: Vyšší Hrad, Upper Castle) is one of the oldest settled sites in Bohemia - a royal seat that actually predates Prague Castle as the centre of Přemyslid power. The bridge carries no independent name beyond its connection to the landmark above it.

The original structure here dates to 1901 - 4th oldest in Prague by original construction date. The current bridge was completely rebuilt in 1960 to handle increased rail traffic on the Prague-Smíchov line. It's the 14th bridge from the north.

• Year of construction: 1901 (original); reconstructed 1960
• Order by age: 4th oldest by original construction date
• Order by position: 14th from the north
• Length: ~360 m
• Type: Railway bridge (freight and passenger rail)
• Architectural style: Functional steel - welded steel box girders, mid-20th-century infrastructure engineering
• Address: Vyšehradský železniční most, Praha 2 / Praha 5
• Nearest metro: Vyšehrad (line C)

Architecture & style: Functional steel railway construction typical of mid-20th-century Czech infrastructure engineering. The 1960 reconstruction used welded steel box girders - efficient and unadorned, with none of the decorative ambition of the 19th-century bridges. Its visual interest comes entirely from its setting rather than the structure itself.

Particulars: From the water, the Railway Bridge creates one of the most dramatic panoramas on the whole river - the sheer Vyšehrad cliff rises above the bridge's arches and the twin neo-Gothic spires of the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul are visible above the fortress wall. It's probably the most striking junction of railway infrastructure and medieval landscape anywhere on the Vltava.

Braník Bridge / Branický most

Czech name: Branický most | Alternative names: Branik Bridge (without diacritics)

Named after the Braník district in southern Prague - known historically for its stone quarries and for the Braník Brewery (Pivovar Braník), whose riverside buildings are visible from the water.

• Year of construction: 1926-1928
• Order by position: 15th from the north
• Length: ~185 m
• Architectural style: Constructivist reinforced concrete arch
• Address: Branický most, Praha 4 (Braník) / Praha 5 (Hodkovičky)

Architecture & style: Constructivist reinforced concrete arch - clean structural form with minimal ornament, part of the same broad rationalist movement as Jirásek Bridge. Connects Braník (right bank) to Hodkovičky and Hlubočepy (left bank). Visible on longer southbound Vltava cruises heading toward Vyšehrad and beyond.

Braník Railway Bridge / Branický železniční most

Czech name: Branický železniční most | Alternative names: Branik Railway Bridge; Bridge of the Intelligentsia (Most inteligence) - informal name

Named after the Braník district, same as the adjacent road bridge. The informal name "Bridge of the Intelligentsia" shares the same origin as the nickname sometimes applied to Barrandov Bridge: after the communist takeover in 1948, loads of Czech intellectuals - academics, doctors, lawyers and writers - were assigned to manual labour on public works. A significant number worked on this railway viaduct during its construction in the early 1950s.

• Year of construction: 1949-1955
• Order by position: 16th from the north
• Length: 910 m
• Width: 14 m
• Type: Railway viaduct with pedestrian walkway
• Architectural style: Functional reinforced concrete - socialist-era railway engineering
• Address: Branický železniční most, Praha 4 / Praha 5

Architecture & style: Functional reinforced concrete construction, typical of early socialist-era infrastructure. At 910 metres it's one of the longest bridge structures over the Vltava. Unusually for a railway bridge, it's got a pedestrian walkway on each side - giving walkers a pretty dramatic elevated view of the Vyšehrad cliff, the river and the Barrandov terraces to the south.

Particulars: The pedestrian walkways make this one of the few railway bridges in Prague you can actually walk on - with passing trains just a few metres away, which is a fairly memorable experience. Visible on extended southbound Vltava cruises.

Barrandov Bridge / Barrandovský most

Czech name: Barrandovský most | Alternative names: Most Antonína Zápotockého - official name 1981-1990; Bridge of the Intelligentsia (Most inteligence) - informal historical nickname

Named after the Barrandov district and the adjacent Barrandov rock (Barrandovská skála) on the left bank. The district itself takes its name from Joachim Barrande (1799-1883), a French geologist who spent much of his career in Bohemia studying Silurian fossils in the cliffs along this section of the Vltava. The bridge was built under the name Most Antonína Zápotockého - honouring the second Czechoslovak communist president - and was renamed Barrandovský most in 1990 after the Velvet Revolution.

The informal nickname "Bridge of the Intelligentsia" dates from the construction period. After the communist takeover in 1948, thousands of Czech intellectuals - doctors, lawyers, teachers, writers and actors - were stripped of their professions for political reasons and assigned to manual labour. A significant number worked on the bridge's approach roads and foundations - and that's basically where the name comes from, one that older Praguers still use today.

Construction began in 1978 after a diagonal crossing design was chosen from 13 competing proposals. The southern half opened on 20 September 1983 and the northern half followed in 1988. A major reconstruction ran between 2022 and 2024 at a final cost of 1.14 billion CZK.

• Year of construction: 1978-1988 (south section opened 1983, north 1988)
• Order by position: 17th from the north
• Length: 352 m
• Width: 40-55 m (widest bridge in Prague)
• Deck height above water: 15 m
• Engineer: Jiří Hejnice, Pavel Tripal
• Architect: Karel Filsak
• Sculptor: Josef Klimeš (monumental concrete sculptures, 1989-1990)
• Architectural style: Brutalism
• Daily traffic: ~142,000 vehicles (2023) - busiest road in the Czech Republic
• Address: Barrandovský most, Praha 4 (Braník) / Praha 5 (Hlubočepy-Barrandov)

Architecture & style: Brutalism - one of the most uncompromising examples of late-socialist concrete engineering in Prague. Its width of up to 55 metres makes it less a bridge in the conventional sense and more an elevated urban motorway. Along with the Bulovka Railway Bridge, it's one of only two bridges in Prague that cross the Vltava at an oblique diagonal angle. The two monumental concrete sculptures by Josef Klimeš at the approaches - Rovnováha (Balance) on the right bank and Hroší lázeň (Hippo Bath) on the left - have become accidental landmarks, which is sort of fitting.

Particulars: Barrandov Bridge is the most heavily trafficked road in the entire Czech Republic - 142,000 vehicles a day, which is a lot. On the northern side, the bridge is integrated into the Barrandov rock face (a protected natural monument), giving the left bank approach an unexpectedly dramatic geological backdrop. Visible on longer southbound Vltava cruises heading toward Vyšehrad and beyond.

Most Závodu míru / Zbraslav Bridge

Czech name: Most Závodu míru | Alternative names: Zbraslavský most - informal name used by locals, and the official name of the original 1896 iron bridge it replaced

The official name - Peace Race Bridge - commemorates the international cycling race Závod míru, which crossed the newly opened structure in 1964. Locals have always called it Zbraslavský most, just like its iron predecessor built on the same site in 1896 - which charged a toll until 1934 and was demolished when the current structure opened. The current bridge was designed by engineer Vladimír Tvrzník and was the first arch bridge in the world built using self-supporting welded reinforcement - without traditional falsework. That's actually a significant engineering achievement for its time.

• Year of construction: 1961-1964; predecessor iron bridge 1896
• Order by position: 18th from the north - southernmost bridge in Prague
• Length: 200 m | Width: 12.5 m
• Main span: 75 m (single central arch)
• Engineer: Vladimír Tvrzník
• Architectural style: Structural Modernism - reinforced concrete arch
• Address: Most Závodu míru, Praha 16 (Zbraslav)
• Nearest transport: Bus to Zbraslav; railway station Praha-Zbraslav

Architecture & style: A single reinforced concrete arch with a 75-metre main span and three supporting pillars on each bank. Unornamented and structurally honest - its significance is really engineering rather than aesthetic.

Particulars: Located at the confluence of the Vltava and Berounka rivers, about 13 km south of the city centre. The Zbraslav Monastery (Zbraslavský klášter) - now housing the National Gallery's collection of Asian and ancient art - is visible from the riverside. Specialist extended Vltava cruises do reach Zbraslav, though it's well outside the standard boat-tour zone.

See the Main Prague Bridges from the Water - Alle Travel

All the central Prague bridges - from the Railway Bridge and Palacký Bridge in the south to Čech Bridge, Štefánik Bridge and Hlávka Bridge in the north - are visible from the river on a standard Vltava cruise. Most one-hour and two-hour cruises cover the central section between Čech Bridge and Palacký Bridge, passing beneath Charles Bridge. Longer routes push further north toward Troja or south toward Vyšehrad, adding more bridges to the view. On Alle Travel you'll find cruises from multiple Prague operators at different durations and price points. Browse all Prague river cruises on Alle Travel →

For a full overview of all boats and steamers available for Prague river cruises, visit the Prague Boats Fleet for River Cruises page on Alle Travel.