Number by catalogue:  Yvert: BF25   Scott: 3352  

Perforation type: 11 ¾x11 ¾

Subject:

45 crowns. Charles Bridge** with a fragment (to the right of stamp) territories of Old Town mills

Additional:

**Charles Bridge (Czech: Karlův most) is a famous historical bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague.

 Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of 15th century. As the only means of crossing the river Vltava (Moldau), the Charles Bridge used to be the most important connection between the Old Town, Prague Castle and adjacent areas until 1841. Also this 'solid-land' connection made Prague important as a trade route between east and west Europe. The bridge was originally called the Stone Bridge (Kamenný most) or the Prague Bridge (Pražský most) but has been the "Charles Bridge" since 1870.

The bridge is 516 meters long and nearly 10 meters wide, resting on 16 arches shielded by ice guards. It is protected by three bridge towers, two of them on the Lesser Quarter side and the third one on the Old Town side. The Old Town bridge tower is often considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic-style buildings in the world. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, erected around 1700.

During the night Charles Bridge is a quiet place. But during the day it changes its face into a very busy place, with painters, owners of kiosks and other traders alongside numerous tourists crossing the bridge.

The Bridge In popular culture

*The Charles Bridge can be seen in music video 'Silver and Cold' by AFI.
*The music video 'Never Tear Us Apart' by INXS was filmed on Charles Bridge.
*Part of Linkin Park's music video 'Numb' was filmed on Charles Bridge.
*Part of Kanye West's music video "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" was filmed on Charles Bridge.
*Charles Bridge appears in the action films Mission: Impossible and XXX.
*In an episode of Amazing Race Asia 2, teams had to search for a statue at the Charles Bridge containing their next clue.
*A photograph of the Charles Bridge is portrayed on Arthur Phillips's novel, Prague, from 2002. The novel is not actually about Prague; it is a story set in late twentieth-century Budapest.
*Charles Bridge appears in a cut scene in the Playstation 3 game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Size (of sheet, booklet) mm: 155x101

Topics: Mills within the landscapes Watermills