Palacky Bridge Prague

History of the bridge

During the 1970s, a communication problem was solved in Prague, namely how to connect the industrially developing Smíchov and the New Town of Prague. Although there has been a ferry in these places for centuries, it has long since ceased to suit these purposes. In 1871, a cooperative was established to build a new bridge over the Vltava River.

On May 13, 1876, in 1876, the foundation stone of the bridge was laid, the project of which was developed by Czech technicians Ing. Josef Reiter and architect Bedřich Műnzberger. The construction was completed in two and a half years, and for the first time pneumatically operated caissons from Ringhoffer were used.

The new bridge was named after the historian František Palacký and the opening took place more than twice. For the first time on Sunday, December 1, 1878, but subsequently it was closed again due to finishing stonework. It was opened for the second time in all silence on December 22 of the same year.

Architecturally, it was very refined. The length between the coastal pillars was 229 meters and its width was 11.4 meters, including sidewalks that are 1.58 meters wide. However, the passage profile of the bridge was not very wide and was criticized from the very beginning. The bridge was not extended until 1950-51, when its sidewalks were widened on both sides with reinforced concrete consoles, however, architecturally the concept of the bridge was preserved. However, due to the current traffic, the width of the Palacký Bridge is still a big drawback.

Between 1889 and 1897, sculptures by Josef Václav Myslbek were gradually installed on the bridge. On the side from Smíchov, Záboj and Slavoj, Ctirad and Šárka were located, and on the New Town side, Libuše and Přemysl, Lumír and Píseň. However, these sculptural groups were damaged by a raid by Allied aircraft in 1945, and were later restored and placed in Vyšehrad.

Author: Andrea Štyndlová