One of the most photographed and photogenic bridges in Europe. Straddling the Vltava river the sides of the bridge are accented with statues of various saints and important figures. The most famous statue is that of St Jan Nepomucký . He was the priest of Charles IV thrown to his death from the spot where his statue sits for keeping his vow of confidentiality after the king suspected his wife of taking other lovers. As the story goes, St John hit the water and five stars were seen above the splash and years later some fishermen found a skull with the tongue still inside. The bridge has been closed to cars since 1945 due to structural weakness. The artists, musicians and craft sellers make a much nicer accompaniment than smelly cars anyway. The defence towers are open every day 10am-10pm and offer great views, adult 40Kc, student 30Kc.