Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9am-11.30pm Apr-Oct, 9am-11.20pm Nov-Mar; 12, 20, 22)
First opened in 1891, Prague's
little funicular railway now uses modern coaches that trundle back and forth on 510m
of track, saving visitors a climb up Petřín hill. It runs every 10 minutes (every 15
minutes November to March) from Újezd to the Petřín Lookout Tower, with a stop at
Nebozízek. Ordinary public transport tickets, valid on tram and metro, are valid on
the funicular, too.
HIST
HISTORIC B
ORIC BUILDING
UILDING
MIRROR MAZE
(Zrcadlové bludiště; adult/child 75/55Kč; 10am-10pm Apr-Sep, 10am-8pm Mar & Oct,
10am-6pm Nov-Feb; funicular railway)
Below the Petřín Lookout Tower is the Mirror
Maze, also built for the 1891 Prague Exposition. As well as the maze of distorting
mirrors, which was based on the Prater in Vienna, there's a diorama of the 1648 battle
between Praguers and Swedes on Charles Bridge.
Opposite is the
Church of St Lawrence
(kostel sv Vavřince), which contains a
ceiling fresco depicting the founding of the church in 991 at a pagan site with a sacred
flame.
MMUSSEUUM
MUSAION
(Ethnographical Museum; 257 214 806; Kinského zahrada 98; adult/child 70/40Kč;
10am-6pm Tue-Sun; 6, 9, 12, 20)
This renovated summer palace houses the National
Museum's ethnographic collection, with exhibits covering traditional Czech folk cul-
ture and art, including music, costume, farming methods and handicrafts. There are
regular folk concerts and workshops demonstrating traditional crafts such as black-
smithing and woodcarving; in the summer months there's a garden cafe.
MONUMENT
MEMORIAL TO THE VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM
(Památník obětem komunismu; cnr Újezd & Vítězná; 6, 9, 12, 20, 22)
This striking sculptur-
al group consists of several ragged human figures (controversially, all are male) in
progressive stages of disintegration, descending a staggered slope. A bronze strip in
the ground in front of them records the terrible human toll of the communist era -
205,486 arrested; 170,938 driven into exile; 248 exec-uted; 4500 who died in prison;
and 327 shot while trying to escape across the border.
