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Reconstruction may shut down Charles Bridge this summer...



 
 
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Old February 10th, 2006, 10:28 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
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Default Reconstruction may shut down Charles Bridge this summer...


http://www.praguepost.com/P03/2006/Art/0209/news1.php


Halting the Royal Way

Reconstruction may shut down Charles Bridge this summer

By Kristina Alda
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
February 08, 2006


"Legend has it that when Emperor Charles IV decided to build Charles Bridge
in 1357, he asked Czech villages to send eggs to Prague to mix into the
mortar and make the foundations stronger. One overzealous village
misunderstood and sent hard-boiled eggs. That's why, as the story goes, the
bridge is so sturdy and has lasted so long.

Even a hard-boiled bridge needs periodic structural repairs, and one planned
soon will likely challenge Prague at the height of the summer tourist
crush - though City Hall seems eager to downplay to what extent.

The city is at odds with itself over a massive restoration of the span that
could begin as early as next month. Jirí Toman, director of Prague City
Hall's investment department, says if he has his way, the bridge would to be
closed to foot traffic during at least some of the repairs, which are
expected to stretch over 16 months during the next two years.

"The bridge will not be shut down," counters Jirí Wolf, a spokesman for the
mayor's office. He says that parts of the bridge will have limited access
during construction.

Charles Bridge did sustain some structural damage during the 2002 floods.

The bulk of the work, expected to cost around 250 million Kc ($10.6
million), will involve repairing the internal structure of the body of the
bridge to improve its resistance to water, restoring its pillars and
repairing external stonework. In addition to the two years of intensive
repairs, smaller repairs will continue for 10 years thereafter.


Prague's icon

Some 20 million tourists visit Prague each year, and almost all of them
cross Charles Bridge at least once, often stopping to touch the plaque at
the base of the statue of St. John of Nepomuk for good luck. Few tourists
could imagine Prague without the bridge.

Not surprisingly, some in the tourist industry are concerned about how the
bridge's closing, now just a possibility, would affect business.

"Charles Bridge is the most iconic monument in Prague," says Jaroslava
Nováková, director of Pragotur, a section of the Prague Information Service.
"Shutting down the bridge would be very unfortunate for tourism here."


Others are trying to put a braver face on the prospect.

Stanislav Voleman, president of the Tour Guides Association, says that for
tour guides, shutting down Charles Bridge would just mean having to find a
new route across to Malá Strana.

But what route would compare with the one that starts underneath the
astronomical clock on Old Town Square; passes through the narrow, cobbled
streets of Old Town, crosses Charles Bridge to Malá Strana and leads up
Nerudova street to Prague Castle?

"All the main historical monuments run in a continuous line connected by
Charles Bridge," says Roman Kotrc, a member of the Association of Charles
Bridge Artists, a nonprofit organization.

"Severing that line would have a dreadful impact on tourism," he says. "It
would take years for it to recover."

Kotrc recalls how after the 2002 floods, it took nearly two years for
tourist traffic on the bridge to reach the same levels as before the floods.
And he doesn't want to see such a slump in tourism again.


The outdoor studio

Reduced foot traffic on the bridge promises to be a big blow to the artists
who treat the span like their studio, selling portraits and photographs,
crafts and caricatures. There are also the musicians - the lone guitar
player, the ensemble brass band - that rely on eager listeners.

"These people will be finished," Kotrc says. "Their art has been entirely
focused on the bridge."

City Hall hasn't set an exact start date for the repairs yet. Media reports
have said the work could begin next month, but Vladimír Krístek, vice
president of the Czech Association of Building Engineers, says repairs are
more likely to commence just before early summer.

In the meantime, hundreds of guides and artists will be holding their
breath.


Work long planned

Projects for the bridge's renovation have been around for 10 years now but
none have gone forward.

That's because the city lacked the money for the undertaking, and various
city organizations couldn't agree on just what needed to be fixed on the
bridge. One dispute has been whether to keep or redo the repairs the city
carried out in the 1960s and 1970s.

According to Krístek, the biggest flaw of those repairs was that they
involved installing low-quality insulation into the structure that allowed
water to enter the body of the bridge more easily.

Jirí Witzany, rector emeritus at Czech Technical University, who was
involved in past efforts to repair the bridge, says the city should spare no
expense on a monument of such great historical importance.

"The bridge deserves a dignified restoration. It's a worthwhile investment."

/

Troubled bridge over waters:

1357 Construction starts nearly 15 years after Prague's only bridge, the
Judith Bridge, washed away in a flood

1496 The third arch from the east bank breaks down after a pillar gives way

1621 The easternmost bridge tower displays the decapitated heads of the 27
leaders of the revolt against the Habsburg Empire

1630 Fighting breaks out on the bridge during the end of the Thirty Years'
War as the Swedes control the west bank of the Vltava

1890 A heavy flood damages the bridge, causing two statues, St. Ignatius of
Loyola and St. Xavier, to fall into the river

1965-78 Repairs increase stability; the bridge is pedestrianized

2002 Bridge suffers foundation damage during massive floods


/




 




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