Children's Island

Boats going through the Smíchov locks pass around the Children's Island. It's a popular place for families with children.

Children's Island is situated on the left bank of the Janáček Embankment between Legion Bridge and the Jirásek Bridge. In the past, there were many smaller islands here, which varied depending on the riverbeds. The first mentions of the island date to 1355, but it was several times completely lost due to floods.

In 1913 – 1916 the island was artificially extended during the construction of the Smíchov locks. In the south it was connected to part of the Petržilkovský Island and to the north a long dividing wall was built. The lock has two chambers and crosses the Old Town and Šítkovský weirs. At the southern tip of the island there is also the Petržilkovská Water Tower.

Until the 18th century the island was known as Malta due to the Lesser Quarter monastery of the Order of Maltese Knights which owned it. Later it was named after whichever member of the Prague Jewish community it happened to belong to – Hykyšův, Funkovský, Židovský. The acquired the name Children's Island only in the 1960s because of the many children's playgrounds that were built here.

The island is home to a complex of playgrounds, a mini soccer field, ping-pong tables, a large chess board and a skate park. The northern tip of the island is decorated with a pylon with an allegorical statue of the Vltava River and its tributaries. Here each year before the feast of Dušicek the members of the Vltavan Association place a wreath in memory of the drowned. The island is connected to the Janáček Embankment by a segmental footbridge.