Calvary, Charles Bridge

The statue of Pietà is an outdoor sculpture by Emanuel Max, installed on the south side of the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Battle of Prague, which occurred between 25 July and 1 November 1648 was the last action of the Thirty Years' War. While the negotiations for the Peace of Westphalia were proceeding, the Swedes took the opportunity to mount one last campaign into Bohemia. The main result, and probably the main aim, was to loot the fabulous art collection assembled in Prague Castle by Rudolph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1552–1612), the pick of which was taken down the Elbe in barges and shipped to Sweden.After occupying the castle and the western bank of the Vltava for some months, the Swedes stopped assaulting the Old and New Town at the eastern bank when news of the signing of the treaty reached them. They still remained a garrison on the western bank until their final withdrawal on 30 September 1649. It was the last major clash of the Thirty Years' War, taking place in the city of Prague, where the war originally began 30 years earlier.

The statues of Madonna, Saint Dominic and Thomas Aquinas are outdoor sculptures by Matěj Václav Jäckel, installed on the north side of the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

The statues of Saints Barbara, Margaret and Elizabeth are outdoor sculptures by Ferdinand Brokoff, Jan Brokoff, and Michael Brokoff, installed on the south side of the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

Charles Bridge (Czech: Karlův most [ˈkarluːf ˈmost] (listen)) is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century. The bridge replaced the old Judith Bridge built 1158–1172 that had been badly damaged by a flood in 1342. This new bridge was originally called Stone Bridge (Kamenný most) or Prague Bridge (Pražský most), but has been referred to as "Charles Bridge" since 1870.As the only means of crossing the river Vltava until 1841, Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas. This land connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the bridge is 516 metres (1,693 ft) long and nearly 10 metres (33 ft) wide. Following the example of the Stone Bridge in Regensburg, it was built as a bow bridge with 16 arches shielded by ice guards. It is protected by three bridge towers, two on the Lesser Quarter side (including the Malá Strana Bridge Tower) and one on the Old Town side, the Old Town Bridge Tower. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700, but now all have been replaced by replicas. The bridge is currently undergoing a twenty-year process of structural inspections, restoration, and repairs. The process started in late 2019, and is expected to cost 45–60 million CZK (USD 1.9–2.6 million).

The statue of Saint Anne is an outdoor sculpture by Matěj Václav Jäckel, installed on the north side of the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

The statue of Saint Joseph with a young Jesus is an outdoor sculpture by Josef Max, installed on the south side of the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

The statues of Madonna and Saint Bernard are outdoor sculptures by Matěj Václav Jäckel, installed on the north side of the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

The statue of Ivo of Kermartin is an outdoor sculpture by Matthias Braun, installed on the south side of the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

The statues of Saints Cyril and Methodius are outdoor sculptures by Karel Dvořák, installed on the north side of the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

The statue of Francis Xavier is an outdoor sculpture by Ferdinand Brokoff, installed on the south side of the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Bedřich Smetana Museum (Muzeum Bedřicha Smetany) in Prague is a museum which is dedicated to the life and works of famous Czech composer Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884). It is situated in the centre of Prague in a small block of buildings right next to Charles Bridge on the right bank of the river Vltava in the Old Town (Novotného lávka 1, 110 00 Praha 1). The building, designed by Antonín Wiehl, which was formerly owned by Prague Water Company, has housed the Smetana Museum since 1936. It is a grand building in the Renaissance style. The main part of the museum exhibits are on the first floor. The upper floors house archive material relating to Smetana, providing a centre for research. Exhibits include copies of letters, photographs and newspaper cuttings relating to Smetana’s life as well as various possessions including his earbone (Smetana suffered from deafness). There are also folders on music stands which contain material about some of Smetana’s most famous works. The visitor is able to listen to extracts from these works by zapping the required music stand with an electronic baton. Smetana was the leading Czech composer at a time when Czech nationalism was allowed to be expressed through the medium of the arts, which had so long been dominated by the official language, German. The Czech people were searching for their national identity and for the first time had the opportunity to perform plays and operas in Czech. The embodiment of this movement was the National Theatre which opened in November 1883 with a performance of a specially written opera by Smetana, Libuše, which deals with the legendary story of the foundation of Prague. His six symphonic poems Má vlast (My Country) describe various aspects of his homeland: its countryside and legends. The second of these tone-poems, Vltava, is especially popular. The main tune is broadcast over the public address system at Prague’s main railway station. The museum is open daily except on Tuesdays.