Going downstream, Čech Bridge is the tenth Prague bridge. It is the only large Art Nouveau bridge structure of its kind in the country, which is why it ranks among protected technical monuments. At 16 metres wide and 169 metres long, it is the shortest bridge in Prague.
The bridge was built between 1905 and 1908 to a design by engineers Jiří Soukup, Václav Trča, František Mencl and architect Jan Koula. Its construction was linked to the redevelopment of the Jewish Quarter and was meant to be part of a never-realised route from Wenceslas Square through Old Town Square, Pařížská Street and a cutting through the Letná hillside up to Prague Castle. Today the main sewer collector runs directly beneath the bridge.
The bridge is also notable for its artistic decoration. On the glazed iron lanterns at the tops of the columns stand 4 bronze statues of geniuses by Antonín Popp. On the upstream pier heads stand bronze torch-bearer statues, and downstream you can see bronze six-headed hydras with the coat of arms of Prague. The piers are decorated with bronze and granite festoons. Apart from 1940–45, when it was renamed Mendel Bridge, it bears the name of Svatopluk Čech, a Czech poet and prose writer.
Our boats are moored next to Čech Bridge at Dvořák Embankment.
