Welcome to the Eiffel Tower’s little sister—the Petřín Tower—which has stood over Prague for over 130 years. It is a marvel of engineering, a witness to a rich history and a testament to Czech skill and creativity. In this exhibition, you’ll discover how the Petřín Tower became an icon of Prague and why it attracts visitors from around the world. the birth of inspiration… The Petřín Tower was born out of admiration for the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Members of the Czech Tourist Club saw it when visiting the 1889 Paris Exposition, and they were profoundly impressed. Their fascination was both aesthetic and symbolic: the tower represented the free spirit, technological progress and industrial maturity of the times. On the way back to Prague, they decided to build a loose copy of this architectural icon in Prague for the Jubilee Exhibition in 1891. Vojta Náprstek. Patriot, ethnographer, political exile, patron and visionary. His ten- year sojourn in the USA had a great influence on his progressive thinking. He supported the emancipation of women and, among other things, sought to legalise the possibility of burial by cremation. In 1889 he organised a trip of the Czech Tourist Club to the World Exposition in Paris. a race against time The construction of the Petřín Tower in just four short months was a matter of prestige for the Czechs, proving their industrial maturity within the Habsburg monarchy. The fact that it managed to open during the Jubilee Exhibition made it a symbol not only of technological progress but also of national pride. same idea, different conditions Although the builders of the Petřín Tower tried to imitate the Parisian model as faithfully as possible, local natural conditions forced some critical differences. Unlike Gustav Eiffel, who built his tower on level ground, the Czech architect Vratislav Pasovský had to contend with the unstable ground on Petřín Hill. Therefore, he doubled the number of support points for the structure to eight and anchored all the legs in massive stone piles sunk almost eleven metres into the ground, thereby providing the tower with the necessary stability. The date is 20 August 1891 and all the inhabitants and visitors of Prague are heading to Petřín Hill. There is excitement in the air, no one wants to miss the grand opening of the Petřín Lookout Tower. A lookout tower that is actually a miniature of the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris. But what preceded this day of celebration? The industrial revolution was culminating around the world, nations were racing to present their innovations at expositions, each hoping to dazzle, each striving to be the best. In May 1889, the World Exposition was held in Paris and visited by over 32 million people in six months. Among them were members of an expedition from the Czech lands, organised by the Czech Tourist Club. The tall steel tower designed by Gustav Eiffel, which they saw there, made such an impression that they decided to build a similar structure overlooking Prague. As soon as they returned from Paris, the enthusiasts founded the Cooperative for the Construction of the Petřín Lookout Tower, invested the first funds and obtained a plot of land on Petřín Hill from the city council. This location for the construction was not chosen by chance. As the highest hill in Prague, it forms a natural dominant feature in the city above the Vltava River and is home to several beautiful gardens and parks. Their beauty is most evident in spring, when the crowns of apple, cherry, almond and magnolia trees are covered in blossoms. Its romance is underscored by bastions – the remains of Baroque fortifications – and the Hunger Wall, built by the Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in 1362 to give work to the starving poor. Architect Vratislav Pasovský, engineers František Prášil and Julius Souček, and all the builders had a difficult task to complete the tower before the opening of the Provincial Jubilee Exhibition in 1891. It was a real race against time, and the building grew at a pace that is hard to imagine today. The steel structure was manufactured in a record-breaking four weeks. Within three months, the top floor with 299 wooden stairs was completed. In less than four months from the start of work, the project was finished. With the building of the tower, the question arose as to how visitors would comfortably reach the top of Petřín Hill. Construction of a funicular cableway began concurrently with the lookout tower. In less than six months, in July 1891, the first journey took place. The route was almost four hundred metres long, making it the longest track in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In May 1891, the gates of the Provincial Jubilee Exhibition in Prague were finally opened and the Petřín Lookout Tower became the greatest attraction, largely owing to the new cable car. The exhibition pavilion of the Czech Tourist Club with an entertaining labyrinth made of 49 mirrors, some of which are distorting and amusing for visitors, especially children, was moved to the vicinity of the tower after the end of the exhibition. The attraction, which adopted the name Mirror Maze, draws visitors to this day. Thanks to its height of almost 60 metres, the Petřín Lookout Tower is one of Prague’s highest landmarks. It offers not only a beautiful view of the skyline with Prague Castle and Charles Bridge, but in good weather you can see as far as the mountains on the border with Germany. The people of Prague quickly fell in love with it, and today no one can imagine Petřín Hill without its tower. Nor can couples in love imagine May Day without the tradition of kissing under a blossoming cherry, and the best place to do this is Petřín.