The Secret of Secrets

Charles Bridge is one of Prague's most famous and beautiful landmarks – and it became one of the key locations in Dan Brown's novel The Secret of All Secrets. Robert Langdon crosses the bridge at dawn, in the hour when it is still half-empty and wrapped in mist rising from the Vltava. For Brown, the bridge embodies the very essence of Prague as the "mystical capital of Europe" – connecting two worlds both literally and symbolically: the Old Town and the Lesser Town, history and the present, the visible and the hidden. It is no coincidence that the hero finds his footing here, amid the web of mysteries that brought him to Prague.

The Old Town Hall in Dan Brown's Novel

Old Town Square and its centrepiece, the Gothic tower with its famous astronomical clock, are among the most important settings in the novel The Secret of All Secrets. Dan Brown places several pivotal moments of the story in this space. The mysterious figure of the Golem moves through the deserted square at dawn, casting a contemptuous glance at the clock — its apostles, he thinks, have been trudging their pointless circuit since the fifteenth century, drawing ever new flocks of onlookers to their spectacle.

The Heart of Langdon's Prague

Old Town Square – known affectionately to locals as "Staromák" – is the oldest and historically most significant square in the centre of Prague. It grew up at the crossroads of ancient merchant routes, serving as a marketplace and centre of trade. Its prominence began to rise rapidly from the 11th century, when the eastern side of the market was occupied by the Týn Court – a fortified compound belonging to the Bohemian prince, where customs duties on imported goods (known as ungelt) were collected. From around the mid-12th century, the square was surrounded by stone Romanesque houses, the ground floors of which are still preserved in the cellars of today's buildings.