Perhaps one of the most iconic and memorable sites of Prague is of course Charles Bridge and like many of the city’s historical sites, it’s haunted as $%&@.
When King Wenceslas IV threw the body of Saint John into the river Vltava, a great flood came and destroyed a small section of the bridge. Despite the constant repairs of this section, every evening the water would once again mysteriously bring it plummeting to the depths of the river. One of the many workers on the bridge decided to stay overnight in the section and was there greeted by the devil himself…
“One of the many workers on the bridge decided to stay overnight in the section and was there greeted by the devil himself…”
The devil swore to knock down this section of the bridge every night until the worker agreed to hand over the soul of the first person to set foot on the finished reparations. The worker attempted to prevent anyone crossing the bridge by guarding both ends but failed when his pregnant wife crossed the section to talk to him. During the night his wife died giving birth, and the child soon after.
It is said that for centuries the spectre of the innocent child could be heard sneezing on the bridge, before someone said “god bless you” and the child was finally released and reconciled for his father’s mistakes.
