At over five hundred metres long, it was the longest in Central Europe at the time. It was named after Vladislav II’s wife, Judith, who was instrumental in its construction. One arch from the Judith Bridge can still be seen today in the cellar of the Křižovnický Monastery on the Old Town bank. However, the Judith Bridge was destroyed during the great flood of 1342. It was a great disaster for Prague and its trade at that time. Emperor and King Charles IV laid the foundation stone for the construction of the new bridge with great pomp and circumstance. The ceremony took place at the time ordained by the court astronomers, which was recorded as the numerical sequence 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1, i.e. in the year 1357, on 9 July at 5 o’clock and 31 minutes. Charles Bridge | Source: Prague City Tourism Charles IV entrusted the construction of the bridge first to Master Otto, then to Petr Parléř, the builder of St Vitus Cathedral. To ensure that the structure was not only magnificent but also sturdy, the builder decided to add wine and raw eggs to the mortar. However, there were not enough eggs in Prague, so they were brought in from all corners of Bohemia on the king’s orders. Wooden carts lined with straw, loaded with the fragile cargo in wicker baskets and crates, gathered on the banks of the Vltava River, where masons broke the eggs and mixed them into the lime. Only in Velvary did they somehow misunderstand the royal decree. They were afraid that the eggs would break on the way, so they sent them hard-boiled. The whole of Prague laughed at the village’s mistake, and their deed was maliciously remembered for centuries. However, they were not alone in their mockery. The residents of Unhošť delivered their eggs safely, but they got a little confused with the milk, which was used to mix mortar during the construction of the bridge. In addition to milk, they also sent cottage cheese and curds. As a result, Charles Bridge is probably the only bridge in the world built not only from stone, but also from wine from Prague’s vineyards, Czech eggs and Unhošť cottage cheese and curds. There must be something to this strange recipe, otherwise the bridge in Prague would not have lasted six and a half centuries. Based on the book 77 pražských legend by Alena Ježková (77 Prague Legends).