As it is easy to guess the name of his Charles Bridge received from the ruler of the Czech Republic, and then the entire Roman Empire - Charles IV. But it happened much later - in 1870, and before that the bridge was called even easier - the Prague Bridge.
The location for the location was chosen not accidentally: here for a long time attempts were made to build bridges, but the former ones were destroyed by frequent floods or were fragile and disreputable. Strategically this is a very important place: the road that connects two important districts of the city - the center (Staré Mesto, where the Old Town Square is located) and the residence of the Czech rulers (Malá Strana, where the Prague Castle is located, now the presidential palace and St. Vitus Cathedral). Unlike the last Charles Bridge was built quite quickly - in just 50 years, but over the cathedral had to work more than one generation of architects - it was erected as much as 600 years!