Is it true that there was a tram line over Charles Bridge? If so would love some more information. Thanks, Wissy.
Zeisig, Many thanks for your prompt reply. The posted photograph is most interesting as is the Prague transport web site. Thanks again. Regards, Robin.
If my memory serves me right, car traffic on the bridge was still allowed in 1970 and the tram rails were still visible (servisable) on the bridge... Viktor
Was traffic on the left then, as in Britain? If so, do you know when it switched to the right as in the rest of Europe?
Czechs drove on the right I beleive since the extablishment of the 1st Republic in 1919!, but during the German occupation, the Germans tried to change it to driving on the left ( I still can't explain, why my fahters 1932, 500cc Airofka had right hand drive?) -- as Germany was also driving on the left, like the Brits and Japan. All German vehicles also had a right hand drive as the British -- After the war, all driving changed back to the right side of the road, except the Russian vehicles, they drove on what ever side they found suited them at the time, right or left.... Viktor
Wrong, Viktor! On the picture you can see that the streetcar and especially the cyclist are going from the Lesser Town on the left side. It changed on 25th-26th Mart 1939 during the German occupation as Germany was driving on the right (unlike UK). In the 60's some fragments of the rails (not serviceable) had preserved in cobblestone.
Thanks a lot Zeisig. So the Czechs drove on the left, and joined the rest of Europe driving on the right in 1939 thanks to the Germans. This explains why Viktor's father's car had the steering-wheel on the side for driving on the left. I read Scandinavian countries used to drive on the left, but switched to the right several decades ago. In Europe, only Britain still drives on the left.
Why do I sense a note of sarcasm Qcumber? But yes both Malta and Cyprus were under former British influence but not for over 40 years. Malta has been a republic since 1964. Cyprus gained independance in 1960 and was accepted into the European Union in 2004.
As I've the "story" -- verbal, from then (1945) almost a kid, my 22 year old stepfather -- the rightofway was somewhat a "local thing", established by the preference of the local constibulary and there was no "official rule" country wise up until WWII. Even the US was somewhat confused about auto trafic rules post WWI, and the lack of adequate paved roads also contributed to the confusion. Americas 1st coast to coast paved road --Hwy 66 was not completed until 1934 -- Until then, most paved roads were 1 or 2 mile stretches in and around town ! Since post WWI automobile travel world wide, was restricted to very few vehicles on the road owned mainly by the rich ( water craft, sea or river world wide historically adhered to the "left", then horse carriages, as a custom not rule/law sort of followed suite-- first left under the Germans, who imposed their will on the Czechs and then right after 1945, in protest to the now gone Germans ( to piss off the Germans, the American occupation forces, changed Germanys left rule to the right, and most of the vehicular trafic then in Germany were US Army vehicles). That is the way, it was expalined to me, as seen by the person who lived during that period... Viktor
Sarcasm, Yes and no, Wissy. It is well-known that all former British colonies drove on the left (e.g. Hong Kong).
Except its most belligerent of former colonies, of course. :wink: (singing) Oh, say can you see... I've also heard somewhere, sorry I can't remember where, that Napoleon originally introduced driving on the right to much of Europe. A lot of countries switched back to the left after he was gone, and the Germans imposed right-hand driving for good in the 20th century.
The Germans did convert the Czechs from left-side driving to right-side driving. See Wikipedia (Rules of the Road).
About Japan and the Philippines: the reason why they took to driving on the left was that their first cars were imported from Hong-Kong, a British colony. What is funny about the Philippines, is that although it became a US colony in 1898, it still kept driving on the left. Only after WWII, their liberation from the Japanese, and their independence on paper from the US of A, did it opt for driving on the right because US troops drove on the right, and the armed forces sold umpteen vehicles to civilians with the steering wheel on the left. To return to Prague, it would be interesting to know the reason why the Austrian Empire opted first for driving on the left.
This is realy confusing, after searching vintage automobile sites. seems there are two truths -- there is an equal amount of German produced cars 1932-1939 with right and left hand drives for civilian use, but WWII military vehicles are predominatly right hand drive!?
Viktor, the human memory is too unreliable, don't trust the eyewitnesses. There is evidence that the Germans changed left-side driving to right-side driving in only several days after the unhappy Idus of March 1939. There must be a rigid rule at least in the cities with tram lines, because the trams can choose only one of two possibilities. Fortunately the old Prague streetcars were double-ended (bidirectional). There are many old photographs of Wenceslas square from the beginning of the 20th century till now with trams and cars, so the eyewitnesses are good-for-nothing in this case.
Zeisig: You are right, memories do fade with age. I was too young to know the differece beteewn left of right -- I've since learned first hand, that many things my parents claimed about the old country,were eithter fabtications or pipe dreams -- But that what is a child to do, they are his parents, and for a while he/she trusts them blindly. For many years I wondered why the car had the steering on the wrong side ( we had photos). Pehaps he (stepfather) was confused about who did what at the time, and passed it on to the kids -- oral history has a tendency of being wrong quite often-- Thanks, I now am convinced. Viktor
