If it weren't for the longest river in the Czech Republic, there wouldn't be any capital either. Or certainly not in the place or form as we know it today. The Vltava and its banks are the real cradle of Prague and still help shape our ideas about the direction the development of the capital should take. In 2023, the Centre for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning (CAMP) prepared a major exhibition, which focused on the Vltava in detail. The City and the River was a reduced version of the original exhibition, tailored to the Kobka 17 exhibition hall and presented during the city-wide festival Poznej Vltavu.

Just like in CAMP, visitors to Kobka 17 could keep their feet dry as they walked along the Vltava, from the confluence with the Berounka all the way to Císařský ostrov, thanks to a 1:1,000 scale model of the river that winded its way through the entire exhibition hall. A projection of archive photographs and films invited you to take a journey into the history of the Vltava in Prague, where old bridges, ferries, and harbors with their boat crews, ice cutters and ice skaters come to life. The exhibition summarized information and the highlights of the Vltava, which we may pass by every day without even being aware of, and it also offered a glimpse into the future, showing examples of projects planned to be implemented on the Vltava or in its immediate surroundings. From the new parks on Rohan Island and the confluence with the Berounka, to transport constructions such as the bridge, Dvorecký most, to the Vltava Philharmonic—a new concert hall on the banks of the river.

The information contained in the exhibition was largely drawn from documents prepared by the Prague Institute of Planning and Development, particularly the new concept for Prague’s riverbanks (Koncepce pražských břehů).