Prague is a big city, if you stay long enough you should go off the beaten track…
One of those other locations is a walk in Letna, which can be easily reached either by metro or tram, and it can also be done this way.
There are two reasons why you should come to Letna park. The first is because from here you have the best view of Prague, especially its bridges, and the second is to get away from the tourists and see Prague from a different perspective.
They say that Prague is a city with a thousand peaks, but it can also be said that it is a city of bridges due to the fact that there are 32 of them across the Vltava River. A total of 18 bridges cross from one side of the coast to the other, and the other 14 connect islands to the coast. The shortest is the Čecuv bridge, 170m, and the longest is Radotinsky 2291m.
If you have seen pictures of Prague, one of them certainly shows the bridges. The pictures were taken from this very place.
Letna is located on a hill above the Vltava river and you can reach it by crossing the Čecuv bridge.
The bridge was named after the famous Czech writer and poet. This 170 m long and 16 m wide bridge is the only one in Prague, which was built in the art nouveau style. On the sides are female figures holding torches. On both ends are four pillars with figures of genii, good spirits, and six-headed hydra figures guarding the Prague coat of arms.
Although Letna is on a hill, once you climb up everything else is flat and accessible for people in wheelchairs. I was very happy that I saw a lot of my wheelers in the park, which means that it is adapted for us.
Here you can walk, jog and enjoy the fresh air. And yet you are very close to the center.
Where there is a viewpoint, there is also a place for a beer hall and rest. Here you can drink excellent Czech beer in the thick shade with a fantastic view of the city.
Concerts and outdoor film screenings are held here.
History
Because of its strategic location, Letna was a military stronghold in the Middle Ages. There used to be a cannon there, which fired a blast every day at noon and marked the exact time, by which the inhabitants of the city measured their watches. Later, Letna was covered with vineyards because its south-facing slopes were ideal for growing grapes. It was only in the 19th century that Letna became a park, which today is very popular with the local population.
The first funicular in Prague was also located here.
Only later was an electric tram added here, which connected Letna with other parts of the city. The route was very short, the ride lasted only 5 minutes. Until then, trams were pulled by horses.
Although there are some important buildings such as the National Technical Museum and the National Museum of Agriculture, the symbol of Letna is definitely the metronome and its turbulent history.
A giant metronome that really works can be seen from all parts of the city.
The inverted pendulum of a motorized metronome swung at 4 and 6 beats per minute. This 25 m high functional metronome was erected in 1991 at the place where the imposing monument dedicated to Stalin stood. This monument was built for three years. 600 workers and a whole series of engineers participated in the construction.
At the foot of the monument there was a bomb shelter. Stalin never saw this monument, which was discovered only two years after his death, on May 1, to be exact. Stalin’s monument was blown up in 1962, when his successor Nikita Khrushchev accused Stalin of numerous past mistakes. Then Stalin became unacceptable to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, after which the monument was blown up with 800 tons of explosives in 1962.
The Metronome monument was erected as a symbol of the new era and has the name “time machine” to remind us that time flows inexorably and to make the best use of it.
Although it has such a serious message, today around the metronome is a paradise for skaters and other happy events. It weighs about 7 tons. The mechanism that drives it is located at the base of the pyramid. The pendulum makes a circle of 60 degrees and is in balance with a pendulum that weighs 2 tons.
The metronome was designed by the international artist Vratislav Novak and is one of the largest metronomes in the world. The installation of the pendulum could not be done properly with a crane due to damaged statics during the demolition of the Stalin monument. That’s why the pendulum was set up by helicopter.
They say the metronome shakes sometimes. When I was there everything was calm. I used one warm afternoon to get away from the noise of the city and enjoy the view of the Prague bridges. Telling a story can make you thirsty but in the kingdom of beer, that doesn’t last long.
Have you visited the metronome in Prague?
Did I miss something?
Traveled and enjoyed,
Marko Veličković
