I’ve written about the walls of Prague’s Old Town, which the city destroyed. It’s unfortunate they removed such a historical feature. Once Prague had a New Town and external fortifications there was no need for the walls around the Old Town.

The New Town was incorporated by Emperor Charles IV in the 1340s¹. Prague was growing and needed space. It also needed fortifications to protect it from invasion. Charles IV ordered a huge construction project to create a 3.4-kilometre long wall².

This encircled the 7.5-square-kilometre New Town while leaving enough space for growth. The first stone was laid in a ceremony by Charles IV on 26 March 1348. It took 400 working days to finalise the entire project².

These fortifications were also taken down once the city outgrew itself.

You can walk on the boundary of the New Town today, along the location of the fortifications if you know the route. In one case, there is a remnant of the fortifications too. Start your walk on the south bank of Hlávkův Bridge (‘Hlávkův most’ pronounced ‘H-love-kuff moss-t’). Turn south, away from the river and start walking. Keep the raised motorway to your left and walk towards the Těšnov (pronounced ‘Tesh-noff’) tram stop.

The New Town was accidentally bombed by the Allies in World War II.

1 – Poříčská brána

(Pronounced ‘Posh-ich-ska bra-nah’)

This is the location of the first gate in the New Town city walls.It looks modern with the raised motorway and the graffiti-filled car park nearby.

This gate allowed for trade with the eastern suburbs and for traffic from the east. It was eventually demolished in 1875³.  Soon after the Těšnov train station was built here to mirror these traffic routes. The train station is gone now and the tram stop that bears its name is the only remnant of the station⁴

Nowadays, the main Na Poříčí (pronounced ‘Nah Posh-ich-ee’) street runs over the site of the gate.

Continue your walk by progressing south along Na Florenci (pronounced ‘Nah Florence-ee’) street. This street curves to your right along Masaryk train station as it heads towards the Old Town. The New Town wall ran right through what is now the station but we have to walk around it for now. The station is being redeveloped as part of the city’s master plan to have a train connection to the airport. If all goes according to plan there will be a pedestrian path taking you along the New Town wall but above the train tracks.

Walk around the station, into the busy Hybernia street and turn right into Opletalova street. At the next junction, you will see a small park on your left and have Senovážné náměstí (Senovážné Square pronounced ‘Sen-ovash-nye nam-yes-tea’) on your right.

2 – Horská brána

(Pronounced ‘Horse-ka bra-nah’)

The junction you’re standing at was known as Mountain Gate. This is the second gate in the New Town fortifications. It provided access for traders coming from the Czech silver mines at Kutna Hora and Vienna³. Today trams heading into Prague’s hipster Žižkov (pronounced ‘zh-ish-koff’) neighbourhood cross through the junction. The square on your right leads to the Old Town. On your left, the city’s main train station hides behind the park.

Continue your walk through the park. Walk along the traffic-filled main road towards Prague’s national museum which is right at the top of Wenceslas Square.

3 – Koňská brána (Horse gate)

(pronounced ‘Kon-yska Bra-nah’)

The newly restored museum was built on top of Horse gate. It is how people entered Wenceslas Square which was the main horse market in those days. It was demolished in 1836 and Prague built the museum soon after³. The huge square stretches away to the Old Town. This was the site of the Velvet Revolution in 1989.

During Prague’s 1848 Pentecostal uprising, this is where heavy artillery moved into the city centre.

Continue your walk along the main road till you reach the intersection with Žitná (pronounced ‘zh-it-nah’) street.

4 – Žitná brána

I’m cheating by including this gate into this article. It wasn’t created with the original fortifications but added at the end of the 17th century. By this time, the suburbs of Nusle and Vršovice (pronounced ‘Vir-sho-vit-tse’) had expanded to the point where easy access to the city was needed³.

The gate stood at this intersection.

Follow the erratic traffic along the main road to I.P. Pavlova square.

5 – Slepa Brana

The current square was where you would have found Slepa Brana. It used to be called St John’s Gate because of a nearby church dedicated to the saint. During the Baroque reconstruction, the gate was rebuilt and narrowed so only pedestrians could pass through it³. I find it curious that there was a move to pedestrianising part of the town in the late 19th century. We think of urban planning as being a modern attitude but it’s been around for far longer than we think.

Charles IV didn’t plan any further gates in the New Town walls because there wasn’t any need to. The rest of the walk continues around the perimeter of the town. Head east along the pedestrianised part of Jugoslavska street past the fast-food joints. Turn right into Belehradska where the shops will become less commercial. Keep walking along this residential street and turn right into Wenzigova street. The entrance to Wenzigova street is through a small double-fronted staircase. You’re in the heart of suburban Prague now.

The remains of the New Town walls

After the second block of this narrow street turn left and walk towards the park. It’s a pleasant  green spot and exists only because it was the outskirts of the city for so long.

The prominent church of Our Lady and Charlemagne has been around long enough to bear evidence of the Prussian siege of Prague.

Cross the park towards the exit on Horská street which is a pedestrianised path. Wind your way down the hill along one of the remaining walls of the New City of Prague. You can walk down till Na Slupi street. Once there, turn right and follow the tram tracks to the river. You’re now by the pedestrian railway bridge in Prague⁵, south of the city centre.

The river

The remaining part of the New Town wasn’t walled or fortified in major way.

The first part involves the now-beautiful promenade along the river north towards the National Theatre. This brisk 20-minute walk takes in some of the best street-level views of Prague architecture.

Once you reach the Theatre, you’re on the border of the Old Town. Indeed, the Old Town walls passed right through Narodni street which is next to the magnificent building. This part of the walk is therefore along the boundary of both the Old Town and the New Town. In fact, the streets you’re about to walk on were the site of the original walls. You can learn more about the Old Town walls in my article⁶.

Head east along Narodni and join the pedestrianised – and shopping heavy – zone leading to Wenceslas Square. Stroll along Na Příkopě (pronounced ‘Nah Pshee-kop-yeah’) street. Pass the Powder Tower and turn north towards the river along Revoluční (pronounced ‘Revol-uch-nee’) street. At the end of Revoluční, instead of taking the bridge, turn right and walk through the park towards Hlávkův most to end up right where you started.

Many historical features around the world are lost to us. This walk helps you see a missing part of Prague.

References

1. New Town sights; Prague-stay.com; (Retrieved 2019-06-21) [↩]
2. New Town; Prague Welcome Site; (Retrieved 2018-05-13) [↩][↩]
3. New Town; Prague Welcome Site; (Retrieved 2018-05-13) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
4. Lost Prague – Tesnov Train Station; Antoine Borg; The Unexpected Traveller; 2015-04-20[↩]
5. The Bridges of Prague; Antoine Borg; The Unexpected Traveller; 2016-10-10[↩]
6. Finding the lost fortifications of Prague’s Old Town; Antoine Borg; The Unexpected Traveller; 2018-01-22[↩]

Remember: links were correct at time of publication.