Superstition abounds on Prague"s Charles Bridge, dating back to its construction in 1357. Builders laid the original bridge stone on July 9 at exactly 5:31 AM, the year, date, and time represented by a precise set of numbers that formed a palindrome: 135797531 (or 1357 9, 7 5:31). The sequence, which reads the same backward and forward, is carved onto the stones of the Old Town Bridge Tower at the east end of the bridge and was believed to bring a kind of magical strength to the structure. But the superstition didn"t stop there. The bridge was also constructed in perfect alignment with the tomb of Saint Vitus and the setting sun on the equinox. A more recent superstition involves the statue of the revered Saint John of Nepomuk that stands on the bridge—according to folklore, rubbing the plaque at the base of the statue will grant you a wish.
Cross this bridge if you dare
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Great Backyard Bird Count
-
Yosemite National Park, California
-
Defying gravity on a swing ride
-
Mitsumata blossoms
-
It’s oh so quiet
-
Gateway to America
-
A river runs through it
-
Happy World Photography Day!
-
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
-
Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
-
Ski touring in Austria
-
Dusky eagle-owls, Pakistan
-
Ring of fire solar eclipse
-
World Environment Day
-
Tombeau du Géant in Bouillon, Belgium
-
Nazca boobies, Wolf Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
-
US Coast Guard: Protecting us for 105 years
-
Cue up the tango music
-
Craig Goch Dam in the Elan Valley of Wales
-
World Penguin Day
-
A polar bear near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
-
Giant kelp in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
-
Basking in the glow
-
Unbearable cuteness
-
Borobudur Temple, Java, Indonesia
-
World Bicycle Day
-
Huntington Beach Pier, California, at sunset
-
World Rivers Day
-
Spotted Lake emerges
-
Its Halfway Day!
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

