A quiet corner of Prague's Charles Bridge has turned into an unlikely pilgrimage site. Next to the baroque Pietà statue, a steady line of tourists now waits to recreate a black-and-white photograph of Depeche Mode taken on this exact spot more than 35 years ago.
The picture dates to November 1988, when Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn shot the band around Prague for his book "Depeche Mode: Strangers." In the most famous frame, singer Dave Gahan and guitarist Martin Gore stand beside the Pietà. It carries extra weight because the band had made history earlier that year: in March 1988 they crossed the Iron Curtain to play Prague, then capital of communist Czechoslovakia — a bold booking for a Western electronic act at the time.
Die-hard fans have been seeking out the spot for decades, but the crowds are new. Images of a mass of concertgoers recreating the pose during Depeche Mode's 2024 Prague shows spread widely online, and the original photo now trends on social media with millions of views. Recent visitors interviewed on the bridge included a couple from California and two women from Austria, all of whom had seen the image on TikTok or Pinterest and wanted their own version.
The bridge already had its own superstition business. Most sightseers come to touch the polished bronze reliefs at the base of the statue of St John of Nepomuk, the priest tortured to death in 1393 on the orders of King Wenceslas IV for refusing to break the confessional seal, then thrown from the bridge into the Vltava. Tradition says touching the engravings brings luck and guarantees a return trip to Prague. Nobody knows whether the band members themselves rubbed the plaque back in 1988 — but they did come back that November, and their photos have given fans a second ritual to follow.
For travellers, this is a nice example of how a landmark you thought you knew keeps generating fresh reasons to visit. Charles Bridge is already on every Prague itinerary, so the photo spot costs nothing extra — just patience. Expect a queue at the Pietà, especially mid-morning when tour groups flood the bridge, and go early or late in the day for a cleaner shot and softer light. And even if Depeche Mode isn't your thing, the story adds a layer to a walk you'd be doing anyway: a 14th-century bridge where medieval martyr lore and 1980s post-punk history sit a few metres apart.
If you're a fan, pair the bridge with a wander through the old town where Corbijn shot the rest of the series, and you've got a very agreeable music-history morning in one of Europe's most walkable cities.
