The Petřín funicular () is 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 ends ...

in the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

capital city of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. It normally links the

Malá Strana Malá Strana ( Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or historically 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 with the top of

Petřín Petřín () is a hill in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic. It rises 327 m above sea level and 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 inhabit ...

() hill, and is operated by the tramway division of Prague Integrated Transport, the local public transit system. The funicular is currently out of service for a complete refurbishment and replacement of the cars. Service is expected to be resumed in summer 2026.

History

The line was originally opened in 1891, as a metre-gauge railway with a length of and

water balance The law of water balance states that the inflows to any water system or area is equal to its outflows plus change in storage during a time interval. In hydrology, a water balance equation can be used to describe the flow of water in and out of ...

propulsion Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from ...

. The cable car ran all year round, in the winter months and in the mid-1890s only on weekends, because of water freezing up the tracks. This original line closed with start of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914 and did not reopen after the end of hostilities. The construction of a new funicular, in which only Prague workers participated, began on 4 November 1931. Both of the original railway stations were demolished, with the rails and the wagons dismantled. Two new cars built by Ringhoffer were put on the retracked

standard-gauge railway A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

between 3 and 10 May 1932. At the turn of May and June, test drives were carried out, followed by a successful technical-police test, and on 5 June 1932, regular operation began. The intermediate stop Nebozízek was put into operation approximately one month later, on July 9. The line operated throughout the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, with the exception of two short closures. The operation of the funicular was temporarily stopped both in the autumn of 1938 (for about one month) and at the end of the war in 1945 (for about four months). After the war, repairs of the track, buildings and replacement of the tow rope took place mostly before the

Spartakiad The Spartakiad (or Spartakiade) was an international sports event that was sponsored by the Soviet Union. Five international Spartakiades were held from 1928 to 1937. Later Spartakiads were organized as national sport events of the Eastern Bloc ...

s, when an increase in passenger numbers was expected to rise. However, a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

in 1965 caused the service to be suspended, and it was not resumed until 1985. At that time new cars were provided and the track was reconstructed, but the original machinery retained. Both new cars were imported to Prague on 7 February 1985 and re-railed onto the track the next day. On 17 April tests began, and on 9 May 1985, a test operation without passengers began. The ceremonial opening of regular operation took place on 15 June 1985. On 19 July of the same year, the intermediate stop Nebozízek was put into operation. The operation of the funicular was suspended on 13 September 2024 due to possibility of a landslide following heavy rains. The operation was not restored as complete refurbishment was scheduled to start in 2025, and temporary repairs would be too expensive. The scheduled refurbishment started in March 2025, and service is expected to be resumed in summer 2026.

Operation

The funicular has three stops: Újezd (at the bottom of the hill), Nebozízek (the middle station) and Petřín (at the top of the hill). The funicular operates daily from 9 am to 11:30 pm, with the interval being between 15 and 20 minutes. Regular timed tickets of Prague Integrated Transport can be used on the Petřín funicular.

Trivia

According to Czech legend, the name of the middle station Nebozízek stems from an incident in which a son of Emperor Charles IV, requesting food, was unable to properly pronounce the Czech letter "ř" when he asked for a

schnitzel Schnitzel () is a thin slice of meat. The meat is usually thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer. Most commonly, the meat is breaded before frying. Breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and is made using veal, pork, Chicken as foo ...

, so instead of "nebo řízek" (meaning, "or schnitzel"), he expressed the word ''Nebozízek'' which actually means little gimlet.

References

Bibliography

External links