The Marksmen Island is situated in the Vltava, just south of Charles Bridge.

It’s named after the noblemen who

practised their shooting skills on the island. In 1841 a chain bridge was built between the old town and Ujezd to
relieve Charles Bridge, the only bridge in Prague until then, from the increasing traffic. For the price of one penny
people could cross the “Emperor Francis I Bridge”; not just to reach the opposite side of the river but also to have a
walk on the island.

Every building and structure eventually makes way for a

more contemporary successor, but for the cable bridge the
end came much sooner. The wooden surface of the bridge
deck could not cope with heavy transports and horse-cars,
it was merely suitable for pedestrians. In 1898 it was torn
down to make place for a stone bridge. The new bridge,
made with granite, also featured tram tracks. It was
adorned with stylish lantern posts and two booths at each
end, capped by a copper roof and manned by a toll
collector. In 1901 the stone bridge was inaugurated by the
Hapsburg emperor of Austria-Hungary: Franz Joseph I.
Although the bridge was new the name stayed, in memory
of the old emperor.
The old Francis I chain bridge.

At that time the lands of Bohemia and Moravia, which today form the Czech Republic, were part of the Austro-
Hungarian Empire. Anti-Hapsburg sentiments were very common among Czechs, and many preferred to live in the
Russian empire. When the war broke out in 1914 these emigrants didn’t want to be part of the Hapsburg army.
Instead they formed a separate battalion within the Russian forces, joined by Czech prisoners-of-war who fled the
Hapsburg army. Together they fought in the Brusilov offensive, one of the deadliest battles in history. In spring
1917 the Tsar was abducted and a provisional government installed. Tomas Masaryk, philosopher, patriot and
founding father of the first Czechoslovak Republic, travelled to Russia with very firm and ambitious goals: expand
the Czech units and make them a separate army, not under Russian but Czech command. He succeeded and the
Czech Legion grew quickly; before autumn there were 38.000 Legionnaires. One of them was Jaroslav Hašek, who
later wrote The good soldier Svejk.
After the revolution of October 1917, in which
the provisional government was overthrown by
Lenin and the Bolsheviks, the Czech Legion was
needed in France to fight the Germans. Because
the Germans were moving in and the Russian
ports were not considered safe enough it was
decided to evacuate the Legion by the trans-
Siberian railway. From Vladivostok they would
take a ship to the US and from there to Europe.
Even by today’s standards that’s quite a journey!

The Legion tried to stay away from the Russian

civil war but the civil war didn't stay away from
them. On their way home the Czech Legion met
with a lot of resistance. They were confronted
with Hapsburg POW’s on their journey to the
West over the same railway. To further Some of the Legionnaires.
complicate the matter, the Germans put pressure
on Trotsky to capture the Legion.

The Legion fought back and took control of large sections of the trans-Siberian railway, captured military
equipment, set up communication networks and formed a small navy around the Baikal Lake. One unit managed to
capture eight train wagons full of gold bars.

The Czech presence inspired many Russians to start anti-Bolshevik action-groups, and for a little while Siberia
became an independent state thanks to the Legion. Thomas Masaryk used the situation to negotiate independence for
the Czech nation after the war. That is to say; without the Legion holding the Trans-Siberian railway the
negotiations for an independent Czech nation could have turned out very differently.

When the allies arrived in Vladivostok to repatriate the Legion they found an unexpected scene: Czechs, Bolsheviks,
Japanese and white Russians were up to their necks in warfare. Because the war was almost over there was no need
for the Czech Legion in France. The Legionnaires made their way to a country that didn't even exist when the
Legion was formed. From Vladivostok they travelled to America, crossed it by train, and then continued by ship to
Europe. Some of them travelled south, via the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Tomas Masaryk became
president of the new Czechoslovak Republic and the bridge was named after the heroes who formed an army
without a country: Most Legii.
The bridge was renamed to Smetana Bridge during the German occupation, after which the communists called it
“Bridge of the 1st of May”. In 1990 the bridge was once again named in honour of the Czech Legion, a name that has
stayed until this day.