Palacký Bridge

It is the fifth bridge over the Vltava River in Prague. It is also the third oldest stone bridge in the city. However, the bridge has its “first”. It was the first bridge in Prague at which construction the caisson method was used.

Its construction was necessitated by the development of industrial Smíchov. The actual construction began in 1876 and was completed in two years. The bridge in the spirit of renaissance was designed by Czech engineer Josef Reiter and architect Frederick Münzbergrem.

The bridge measures 228 meters and is divided into 7 segmental arches. For its construction granite blocks of different colors were used. In the years 1950 – 1951 it was repaired and expanded to almost 14 meters.

The bridge was towards the end of the 19th century decorated with four sculptures by Josef Myslbek with themes of Czech mythology. The sculptures were damaged during the air raides at the end of World War II and transferred to Vyšehrad park where you can see them today. The bridge was initially called the Stone Bridge to Smíchov or Podskalský, but since 1878 it bears the name of František Palacký.