Petřín () is a hill in the centre of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It rises 327 m above sea level and some 130 m above the left bank of the

Vltava River Vltava ( , ; german: Moldau ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, and finally merging with the Labe at M ...

. The hill, almost entirely covered with

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

s, is a favorite recreational area for the inhabitants of Prague. The hill (in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

known as ''Laurenziberg'') is featured prominently in

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

's early short story "

Description of a Struggle "Description of a Struggle" (german: "Beschreibung eines Kampfes") is a short story by Franz Kafka. It contains the dialogues "Conversation with the Supplicant" ("Gespräch mit dem Beter") and "Conversation with the Drunk" ("Gespräch mit dem Bet ...

" and briefly in Milan Kundera's novel ''

The Unbearable Lightness of Being ''The Unbearable Lightness of Being'' ( cs, Nesnesitelná lehkost bytí) is a 1984 novel by Milan Kundera, about two women, two men, a dog and their lives in the 1968 Prague Spring period of Czechoslovak history. Although written in 1982, the no ...

''. The chronicler

Cosmas Cosmas or Kosmas is a Greek language, Greek name ( grc-gre, Κοσμᾶς), from Ancient Greek Κοσμᾶς (Kosmâs), associated with the noun κόσμος (kósmos), meaning "Cosmos, universe", and the verb κοσμέω (to order, govern, ado ...

describes Petřín as a very rocky place, the hill is allegedly called Petřín because of the large number of rocks (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: petra). Since ancient times,

stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

were dug and were used to construct buildings in Prague. Medieval defence wall, the

Hunger Wall The Hunger Wall ( cs, Hladová zeď) is a medieval defensive wall of the Lesser Town of Prague, today's Czech Republic. It was built on Petřín Hill between 1360 and 1362 by order of Charles IV. Marl from quarries on Petřín Hill was used ...

was built on Petřín Hill during 1360 - 1362, by the order of

king of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman ...

Charles IV. The

Petřín Lookout Tower The Petřín Lookout Tower (Czech: ''Petřínská rozhledna'') is a steel-framework tower tall on Petřín Hill in Prague, built in 1891. It resembles the Eiffel Tower and was used as an observation tower as well as a transmission tower. Today ...

, which strongly resembles the Eiffel Tower, was built atop a hill in 1891. Other sights include the Rose Garden, Mirror Maze, Cathedral of Saint Lawrence, and St Michael Church. The summit of the hill is linked to Prague's

Malá Strana Malá Strana (Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or more formally Menší Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant center o ...

district by the

Petřín funicular The Petřín funicular is a funicular railway in the Czech capital city of Prague. It links the Malá Strana district with the top of Petřín () hill. The funicular is operated by the tramway division of Prague Integrated Transport, the loca ...

, a

funicular railway A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

that first operated in 1891.

Main sights

Petřín lookout tower The Petřín Lookout Tower (Czech: ''Petřínská rozhledna'') is a steel-framework tower tall on Petřín Hill in Prague, built in 1891. It resembles the Eiffel Tower and was used as an observation tower as well as a transmission tower. Today ...

* Mirror Maze * Rose Garden *

Štefánik's Observatory Štefánik's Observatory ( cs, Štefánikova hvězdárna, obs. code: 541) is an astronomical observatory on Petřín hill in the center of Prague founded 1928 and named after Slovak astronomer Milan Rastislav Štefánik. Nowadays the observa ...

Strahov Stadium The Great Strahov Stadium ( cs, Velký strahovský stadion) is a stadium in the Strahov district of Prague, Czech Republic. It was built for displays of synchronized gymnastics on a massive scale, with a field three times as long as and three ...

* St Lawrence Cathedral * St. Michael the Archangel Church (wooden church from the second half of the 17th century in

Boyko The Boykos ( uk, Бойки, Boiky; pl, Bojkowie; sk, Pujďáci), or simply Highlanders (верховинці, ''verkhovyntsi''), are an ethnolinguistic sub-group of Ukrainians located in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, ...

style, transferred from

Subcarpathian Ruthenia Carpathian Ruthenia ( rue, Карпатьска Русь, Karpat'ska Rus'; uk, Закарпаття, Zakarpattia; sk, Podkarpatská Rus; hu, Kárpátalja; ro, Transcarpatia; pl, Zakarpacie); cz, Podkarpatská Rus; german: Karpatenukrai ...

in 1929) *

Memorial to the Victims of Communism The Memorial to the victims of Communism ( cs, Pomník obětem komunismu) is a series of statues in Prague commemorating the victims of the communist era between 1948 and 1989. It is located at the base of Petřín hill, Újezd street in the ...

References

Mountains and hills of Prague {{Prague-geo-stub