Petřín Lookout Tower

The lookout tower on Petřín Hill is inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It offers a beautiful view of Prague.

The Petřín Lookout Tower is one of Prague's dominant landmarks. Not in vain does it recall the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris. In 1889, members of the Club of Czech Tourists participated in the World's Fair in Paris, where the Eiffel Tower so enchanted them that they wanted to build a similar one in Prague.

For this purpose, they founded a cooperative and obtained a suitable plot of land from the city on Petřín hill, which is 318 m above sea level. The impetus for the rapid construction of the tower was the date of the General Land Centennial Exhibition in 1891 in Prague. The construction commenced in March 1891 and was already approved in July 1891 and subsequently opened to the public in August of that year. Prague thus got its tower two years after the Paris tower was completed.

The author of the design was architect Vratislav Pasovský and the head engineers were František Prášil and Julius Souček of the Bohemian-Moravian engineering company. The tower was designed as an octagonal trussed steel structure, requiring 175 tons of iron. The eight arms of the structure were embedded in massive stone blocks at the top of the octagon. If you decide to head up to the 51 m high viewing cabin, a climb of 299 stairs awaits you. Your effort will be rewarded with a beautiful view of Prague. The total height of the observation tower is 63.5 m. For comparison, the Eiffel Tower with antenna measures 324 m.

In the 20 m first floor there is a covered observation terrace with a gallery, and in the middle of the tower there is a shaft with a lift, first gas-powered and now electric. The lookout tower first shone in the glow of electric lights in December 1891. It is said the light from the arc lamps placed beneath the crown of the lookout tower was so bright that one could read in it.

In 1938 there was a fire in the elevator shaft and subsequent damage to the tower, although no one was injured. In 1953, a television transmitter was placed on the tower, leading to an insensitive modification of the structure. Instead of the elevator, cables were placed in the shaft and the television antenna replaced the stylised royal crown at the top of the tower. In 1980 the entire tower was closed to the public due to its poor condition. It was reopened only after the Velvet Revolution in 1991, when the General Czechoslovak Exhibition was held on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the General Land Centennial Exhibition.

However, the tower required a general reconstruction, which began in 1999. The old wooden staircase was dismantled and replaced with new wood without knots. Also, the shaft was replaced and equipped with a lift for the disabled, which runs up to the top viewing cabin. The ugly covered balcony was replaced with an elegant terrace, which is also wheelchair accessible. After the reconstruction, the tower was opened to the public on 24 March 2002. It is open all year round and is illuminated all night. The lookout tower is administered by the City of Prague Museum.