Bridge of the Legions of Prague

Originally there was a chain bridge of Emperor Francis I, which was built between 1839 - 1841 and served until 1898. The construction of the Bridge of the Legions began in 1898 and was completed in 1901. The initiator of the construction was the businessman Vojtěch Lanna, the project was developed by Antonín Balšánek and engineering work provided by Jiří Soukup.

The construction of the bridge began on August 3, 1898, when the foundation stone was laid. In one, already finished instructional pillar, a box with a commemorative document was placed and the construction was carried out by the Budapest company G. Gregersen and Sons.

Because the Legion Bridge rises above Střelecký Island, a popular place for Praguers, a wide connecting staircase is built from the bridge deck, and above the last pillars on both sides there are stone pylons with copper-covered domes, which were to serve as a station for bridge collectors. Engineering networks are placed under the paving.

The bridge consists of nine very flat arches of various spans. Directly above Střelecký Island, a vault of circular segments rises, the other vaults have the shape of an ellipse. The bridge is built of granite blocks and at both ends there are two towers that were built for the purpose of collecting tolls. The Legion Bridge was ceremoniously opened on June 14, 1901, and Francis Joseph I also took part in the ceremony.

The total length of the bridge is 343 meters and a width of 16 meters. Originally, the bridge was named after Francis I. In the years 1919 - 1940 it was called the Legion, between 1940 and 1945 Smetana's, after the Second World War again the Bridge of the Legions, since 1960 the bridge of May 1 and since March 1990 it is again called the Bridge of the Legions.

Author: Andrea Štyndlová