accessibility of prague towers

Prague’s towers, especially the historical ones, are among the buildings where barrier-free access is the biggest hurdle. The usual solutions, such as external elevators, cannot be used due to the heritage zone; and providing indoor ones is typically thwarted by the limited options within a Gothic building.

Nevertheless, in one of the Gothic towers just such a modification has been successfully put in. The Old Town Hall Tower is barrier-free thanks to an elevator that leads from the ground floor of the Town Hall to the 3rd floor. Here it is followed by a separate elevator for up to 10 people, giving access to the viewing gallery of the Town Hall Tower. There is a travellator between the two elevators; although it is not adapted for visitors with an electric wheelchair, you can easily borrow a mechanical wheelchair here. On the 3rd floor there’s also a barrier-free toilet opened by Eurokey (the key can be borrowed at the ticket office on the Old Town Hall ground floor). There is a completely barrier-free entrance to the Old Town Hall via the passageway from Mikulášská Street.

Another accessible building managed by Prague City Tourism is the Petřín Mirror Maze. Here, however, staff assistance is needed and having accompaniment is recommended. A two-leaf exit door can be used for entry, opened by the cashier on request. The main dominant feature of the imitation of the former Gothic Vyšehrad gate called Špička is a diorama depicting the armed struggle of Prague citizenry with the Swedes on Charles Bridge in 1648, more precisely the defence of the Old Town Bridge Tower by Plachý, the Jesuit. The painting spans some 80 square metres and is the joint work of brothers Adolf and Karel Liebscher. In the next room is the popular Hall of Laughter with 14 different convex and concave mirrors.

Unfortunately, the short mirror maze is not accessible for wheelchair users due to its narrow and angled passageways, for handling and safety reasons. Sanitary facilities are not part of the building, but a fully barrier-free public toilet is accessible in its immediate vicinity. Nevertheless, we are sure that the enjoyable optical illusions, also accessible to persons with disabilities more than make up for any minor discomfort.