c. 1840: Hradčany and the Old Town Mills
original: Rudolf von Alt, lithography: František Xaver Sandmann
This romanticising lithograph depicts just about all the ways in which river water was used in the modern city. Water for everyday use was initially drawn from wells and springs, but from the end of the 15th century it was also distributed by the Old Town Water Tower, which pumped it in and then distributed it to fountains around the city. The Old Town Mills were also powered by water, which was directed their way by the Old Town Weir. All commercial operations using mechanical machinery were built along the river. The Vltava was also used for water transport, and not only within Prague itself – many raw materials were shipped in from further afield. For centuries, the river was crossed via fords, the bridge (Charles Bridge was the only such structure until the middle of the 19th century) and ferries. Not least, the river was used for washing clothes and bathing.
1863: Staré Podskalí and the Šítkov Water Tower
Wilhelm Rupp
Podskalí, originally a fishing community extending from today’s Mánes building to the railway bridge, became part of Prague’s New Town when this district was established back in the 14th century. The people of Podskalí earned their living by fishing, timber rafting, and quarrying the river for sand in the summer and ice in the winter. In the 1890s, new embankments began to be built along the river as protection against the regular flooding: first from the Šítkov Mills to the newly built Palacký Bridge, and later extending to Výtoň. The new embankments, still without quays, corralled the river and made the riverside houses suddenly seem submerged behind the wall, despite its passageways. As Prague expanded and the waterfront plots of land became increasingly desirable, the old cottages were cleared and replaced with new and taller tenement houses. This was before the First World War.
c. 1870: Vltava Riverside below Vyšehrad
František Fridrich
Vyšehrad, which in 1883 became the second oldest part of Prague (after Josefov), used to be regarded – with its original Romanesque basilica – as a sacred Slavic district. The very thought of punching a hole in the Vyšehrad rock so that a riverside road could reach Podolí, relieving travellers of the need to take a detour via Pankrác or the ferry, had long struck people as a modern irreverence towards their own prehistoric past. Despite those protests, the city eventually bought up the land it needed and had the tunnel built in 1903–1905. The romanticising details of the portal, featuring an attic and battlements, were supposed to imitate a medieval fortress gate, but even at the time they were greeted with puzzlement and misgivings.
1867: Construction of the Emperor Franz Joseph I Bridge under Letná Plain
František Fridrich
The city announced a competition for a third Prague bridge, which was to open up access to Letná, the Royal Game Preserve and – pending the construction of Hlávka Bridge – Holešovice. The winners were a British architectural and engineering team, who took this as an opportunity to test a patent that they then used in the construction of the still standing Royal Albert Bridge in London. This Prague suspension bridge, built with Tudor Gothic elements in 1865–1868, was officially opened by Emperor Franz Joseph I, after whom it was named. However, among locals it was known as the Eliška (“Lizzy”) Bridge after the more popular Empress Sisi. It ended at the station of a funicular railway, which was built on the occasion of the 1891 Jubilee Exhibition and carried passengers up to Letná Plain. Relatively soon, however, the bridge started to show signs of structural weaknesses, and had to undergo reconstruction before the 19th century was out. In 1941, it was closed for good and replaced by a temporary wooden structure. Ten years later, the new reinforced-concrete Šverma Bridge was opened in its place.
1890: Charles Bridge Damaged after the Flood of 1890
Zikmund Reach
Life around the river has always been heavily influenced by two opposing forces: drought and flood. When the level of the Vltava dropped, this impeded navigation and made the mills harder to run, while the poor quality of the water spread epidemics of disease. What people dreaded far more, however, was flooding, as the annual spring thaw brought drift ice to Prague even from very distant places. Yet the most devastating flood occurred not in winter, but in September of 1890, a year in which the rainy summer lifted the level of the Vltava so high that it flooded a third of Prague. This flood claimed dozens of lives and tore down three of Charles Bridge’s arches, taking two Baroque statues with them. Subsequent repairs to the bridge took two years, during which a famous wooden makeshift bridge connected the two banks.
1900: Ice Harvesting at Sítkov Mills
Zikmund Reach
When the river froze over and became unnavigable, this was an opportunity to harvest ice, which was used to conserve food and beverages in the hospitality industry, hospitals and pharmaceutical plants. Extracting the ice required dexterity to cut it, and physical strength to handle and load it. This work was mostly done by locals from Podskalí, summer “watermen”, and rafters. The ice was then stored in cold cellars, where it would last until the next winter. Ice harvesting gradually declined, limping to its complete demise in the mid-1950s, because the progressive construction of dams along the “Vltava Cascade” meant that water from the bottom of these reservoirs would flow through the Vltava. As a result, it was warmer in winter and colder in summer than before.
1905: Frozen River Vltava at the Railway Bridge below Vyšehrad
Zikmund Reach
Starting in the 19th century, ice skating became a popular winter sport among the people of Prague. Skaters could be found all along the Vltava, but the most popular spot was the stretch between Palacký Bridge and the railway bridge. This may have been partly thanks to the inhabitants of Podskalí, for whom skating was a source of winter earnings. Their reliance on this income meant that they devoted considerable attention and care to this section of the river. They swept and groomed the ice, marked the rinks, installed temporary wooden footbridges for access, built changing rooms, rented skates, and sold sausages and beer. Those who preferred not to skate could use the frozen Vltava as a popular promenade.
1911: Ferry from the “Fish Shop” in Holešovice to Troja
Julius Pfeiffer
Ferries were a constant presence in Prague from the Middle Ages. As the modern city grew, demand for them steadily increased because bridges across the river were not being built fast enough. Ferries were operated either directly by the municipality or by private operators under licence. The group in the photo, dressed in their Sunday best, took the ferry from Rybárna (Fish Shop) in the old Holešovice district to the riverbank in Troja, where they probably went for a Sunday stroll. These days they would have walked across Troja Bridge.
1926: Panoramic View of Braník with Ice Plant and Brewery, with Hodkovičky Beyond
Antonín Alexander
This photograph neatly captures the architecturally and structurally interesting complex of the Social Ice Plant, which was built in 1909–1911 on the initiative of Prague innkeepers and restaurateurs because the old wooden ice storage facilities at Štvanice were no longer sufficient to meet their needs. Situated at one of the coldest points along the Vltava, the ice plant had its own lagoon separated by a dike, which helped the calmer and less deep river water to freeze more easily. In winter, workers here would break the ice, which was then conveyed on belts into the “icehouse”, where the excellent temperature insulation ensured that it would last until the following winter. During the year, blocks of ice were carved and distributed to customers. The Braník Brewery complex can be seen in the background.
1937: Holešovice Port’s Transshipment Facility with the Marshalling Yard on the Opposite Bank
František Illek
From the second half of the 19th century, Holešovice was an important industrial town. Following in the footsteps of Josefov and Vyšehrad, it was annexed to the historical territory of Prague in 1884. It became all the more prominent when a protective and winter harbour was established there in 1892-1895. Between 1906 and 1910, this facility was modernised, expanded to include numerous Art Nouveau buildings, and turned into a commercial port. The photograph taken from the roof of the Public Warehouses (Veřejná skladiště) joint-stock company shows a ship being loaded by a gantry crane on rails, the 750-metre-long and 4.8-metre-deep harbour basin, the marshalling yard with a building for railway clerks, and the gate to the site on the Holešovice side.
1941–1944: KLV Gästhaus on Shooters Island
photographer unknown
The original archipelago, referred to as far back as the 12th century as Little Venice, is now called Shooters Island (Střelecký ostrov) after the local shooting range where the people of Prague would go to practise their marksmanship, first with bows and crossbows, and later with firearms. The old shooting range was destroyed by fire and, in 1812, an Empire-style building with a tavern and dance hall was built on the site. A terrace with a loggia was added in the 1930s. The first All-Sokol Rally, a gymnastics event, was held here in 1882. In 1940, the building, together with the YMCA hall and the Golden Goose Hotel, served as a temporary camp for German children transported to the Protectorate from the Reich so that they would be safe in the countryside. Here, they waited until they were assigned to empty spa resorts, hotels, hostels, and monasteries.
1953: Preparations to move the Mary Magdalene Chapel under Letná
photographer unknown
The Late Renaissance oval Chapel of Mary Magdalene, built in 1635, was probably commissioned by the Canons Regular of the Penitence of the Blessed Martyrs to stand on their vineyards. It was intended to serve winemakers from Letná and passing rafters. Following its deconsecration during the Josephine reforms, it was used, among other things, as a storehouse for the nearby civic lido. From 1908 onwards, it resumed its original function as a chapel, but in 1956 it had to be moved almost 31 metres upriver to accommodate alterations to the embankment and the widening of the road. It thus became the first structure in Czechoslovakia to be wholly relocated. The photograph also records the modifications to the Letná hillside and the construction of the Stalin monument.
1965: Slovanka Laminate Lido on Slavic Island
photographer unknown
Slavic Island (Slovanský ostrov), otherwise known as Žofín, was formed by gradual soil accumulation during the 17th century near the place where the stone Šítkov Water Tower stood. Following on from the dye works here, a garden inn and, later, palace were built on the island, which consequently hosted virtually all Slavic cultural life during the 19th century. On its western side, the Slovanka pontoon lido opened in 1886. Over time, this bathing establishment became the largest in Central Europe, with the people of Prague gladly spending their newly won recreational time in the water. This fondness for outdoor swimming is reflected in the number of lidos in the centre of the city and the numerous beaches dotted around its outskirts. Large-scale river bathing gradually petered out because industry worsened the water quality and the construction of the Vltava Cascade, especially the Slapy and Orlík reservoirs, caused the water temperature to drop.
1979: View of Na Františku Embankment
photographer unknown
It was not until 1911 that a quay – complete with ramps to berths where passenger ships were moored – was built at Na Františku Embankment. Although this part of the Old Town, close to the convent and hospital of Saint Agnes, had not been included in the sweeping redevelopment of this district, one of the plots near Štefánik Bridge was used for the construction of an imposing ministerial building following the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia. This photograph from the late 1970s shows that, at a time when motoring was booming, many of the waterfront areas in the historic centre were used as car parks. However, even then architects and city planners were aware of the waterfront’s potential – the image is part of an analysis by the Chief Architect’s Office describing the state of Prague’s most important embankments and the problems they faced. Regrettably, the revitalisation of the riverfront never made it into the previous regime’s economic plans.
1986: Aerial View of the Tennis Complex on Štvanice Island
Kamil Wartha
On Štvanice Island (the name means “chase” or “hunt”), originally known as Greater Venice because of all the smaller islands surrounding it, chases in which dogs hunted down various game were held in a wooden arena here until banned by imperial decree in 1816. In the 19th century the island was used for various dance and drama festivals, but last century it was devoted entirely to sport. Initially, the First Czech Lawn Tennis Club Prague made its home here, followed by a unique indoor stadium with an artificial ice rink, the grounds of the Sokol association and the Workers’ Sports Union, and, of course, a lido. Although, in the 1980s, suggestions were made to relocate the tennis complex from its tight squeeze between Hlávka Bridge and the Negrelli Viaduct, it has remained true to its roots.
1994: View of the Sewage Treatment Plant on Imperial Island and the Zoo in Troja
Bohumil Chalupníček
Exactly when Prague’s largest island was formed is not certain, but because the Bohemian Estates dedicated it to Emperor Rudolf II, it has been called Imperial (Císařský) since the end of the 16th century. At that time, the island was shaped differently due to the meandering of the Vltava River and included the Royal Game Preserve (otherwise known as Stromovka). It took on its present appearance after the construction of the Podbaba weir, lock and canal in the Troja district in 1899–1902. In the last century it served the cavalry, and from the First World War there were allotments here. These were swept away by the flood of 2002, which also damaged the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant, built in the western part of the island in 1958–1968. The flood also wreaked considerable damage in the zoo opposite, where the photo shows two wooden Rondocubist relocated from the airport in Kbely.
2002: View of the Broken Banks of the River Vltava
ČTK
A week of heavy rains caused a five-hundred-year – and in some places a thousand-year – flood in Bohemia. The worst afflicted river was the Vltava, which on 14 August 2002 achieved peak flow in Prague – almost thirty-five times higher than usual. The water flooded all of Prague’s riverside districts, six bridges were closed, and all that could be seen of the trees on Prague’s islands were their tops protruding above the surface, which was almost eight metres higher than normal. Those Prague floods have come to be remembered in the public consciousness by the inundation of 18 metro stations, the evacuation of animals from the zoo, and the completely submerged Karlín district.
2018: Troja Bridge
Jan Malý
Starting in the reign of Emperor Rudolf II, a temporary wooden bridge led from the Royal Game Preserve to Holešovice. This was always dismantled and stored away for the winter. For more than a hundred years, it gave monarchs a direct and convenient route to their estate in Brandýs nad Labem. While a permanent bridge had long been mooted, it was not until 1967 that the city put it out to tender, first with a brief to build an underground tramway, which was quickly changed to a metro. However, revisions to the transport plan and the routing of public transport lines meant that, in the end, only a bridge for pedestrians (in 1976) and trams (in 1980) was built on this site. It was called Rámusák (“Racket Bridge”) because of all the noise made by the wooden bridge deck. The current architecturally and structurally award-winning bridge was put out to tender in 2005 and has been in service since 2014.