Petřín
Petřín (327 m) is a hill in the center of Prague, Czech Republic. It rises some 130 m above the left bank of the Vltava River. The hill, almost entirely covered with parks, is a favorite recreational area for the inhabitants of Prague.[1] The hill (in German known as Laurenziberg) is featured prominently in Franz Kafka's early short story "Description of a Struggle" and briefly in Milan Kundera's novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
The chronicler Cosmas describes Petřín as a very rocky place, the hill is allegedly called Petřín because of the large number of rocks (Latin: petra).[2] Since ancient times there was digged stones, from which Prague has built a lot of buildings. Medieval defence wall, the Hunger Wall was built on Petřín Hill during 1360 - 1362, by the order of Czech King Charles IV. The Petřín Lookout Tower, which strongly resembles the Eiffel Tower, was built atop a hill in 1891. Other sights include the Rose Garden, Mirror Maze, St Lawrence Cathedral and St Michael Church.
The summit of the hill is linked to Prague's Malá Strana district by the Petřín funicular, a funicular railway that first operated in 1891.
Main sights
- Petřín lookout tower
- Petřín funicular
- Hunger Wall
- Mirror Maze
- Rose Garden
- Štefánik's Observatory
- Strahov Stadium
- St Lawrence Cathedral
- St Michael Church (wooden church from the second half of the 17th century, transferred from Subcarpathian Ruthenia in 1920s)
- Memorial to the victims of Communism
References
- ↑ Czech-tourist-service - Petřín Gardens
- ↑ Cosmas of Prague. Kosmova kronika česká. 7. vyd. Praha, Litomyšl: Paseka, 2005. ISBN 80-7185-515-4. page 31.
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Coordinates: 50°05′01″N 14°23′43″E / 50.08361°N 14.39528°E