Petrin tower, Prague

The Hunger Wall which runs through Petrin Park is one of the largest and most visible structures in the whole of Prague. It was built in the 14th century and formed an integral part of the defences for the southern and western perimeters of Mala Strana and Prague Castle for more than 500 years. These days, about 1.2km of the original wall remains, in a remarkable good state of repair.

The Hunger Wall was commissioned by the Holy Roman Emperor and Czech King Charles IV in the 1360s. Legend has it that it was constructed during a famine and that the project was intended to provide work for the poor who received food in return for their labour. Certainly there is record of a famine over this period, but one must be realistic and accept that medieval monarchs are far more likely to have been motivated by defensive rather than humanitarian motives!

The Hunger Wall crests the hills close to the Petrin Tower, an unexpected bonsai version of the Eiffel Tower. Indeed, it was inspired by its Parisian cousin, but differs in certain details of its design. Until the commissioning of the monstrous Zizkov TV tower in the 1990s (see my travel tip), the Petrin Tower served as the TV broadcasting antenna for Prague but is now exclusively a tourist attraction with a lovely view out over the city. The lame and lazy will be delighted to know that there are two options to reach the top of the 60m tower: walk up the stairs or take the lift!

On the issue of mobility, it's worth noting that the hike up Petrin Hill is beautiful but fairly strenuous, especially if the ground is icy. A better alternative for those with limited mobility is to catch the funicular railway from Ujezd Street in Mala Strana.

At the base of the Petrin Tower, there is the Mirror Maze, a hall of mirrors, which is an interesting throwback to the way that funfair attractions used to be. The Maze is a relic of the Prague Exhibition Grounds dating back to 1891 and apparently the wooden construction imitates the Gothic part of the fortification in Vysehrad.When I visited, I was 6 months pregnant, and was hard pressed to tell the difference between the conventional and the distorting mirrors!

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On my second day while riding the tram I passed by a hilly park and saw people walking up the stairs, so I went down the tram and found a funicular sign along the street, went in and luckily, my tram ticket is still valid for this funicular ride (75-minutes ticket). Took the funicular train up to the gardens on top of the hill and as usual --- follow the people.

And saw this tower sort of a smaller version of Eiffel. The hill is called Petrin. The tower is constructed as a transmission and observation tower.

Entrance fee to the tower is 100 CZK, half price for students, and the way up is through stairs, elevators for physically challenged.

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- Petřín (327 m) is a hill in the center of Prague, Czech Republic.
- It rises some 130 m above the left bank of the Vltava River.
- A small version of Paris's Eiffel Tower.
- Petrin Observation Tower was built in 1891 for the Jubilee Exhibition.

It is very nice view of Prague from top of Petrin Tower, you can go up by stair as I remembered about 50 or 100 CZK OR use elevator and pay 150 CZK.

The good point to use stairs you can see very nice view when you are going up but with elevator you will go to Iron Box & reach to the top.

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It is the main object of Petrin hill. Despite of going up the hill (naturally panoramic view), there is a tower of 63,5 meters, where you could see really amazing views of Prague. Actually this panorama was the best to me and looks like worth spending some extra Czech crones for entrance Petrin tower.

Petrin tower was built as a part of former Prague Exhibition Grounds in 1891. The idea was to construct the tower, looking (almost) the same as Eiffel tower in Paris. Interesting fact, that these towers are the same height above the sea level (300 meters) as Petrin tower stands on hill.

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Petrín is a 327 metre hill which is topped with a 60 metre octagonal tower, which was constructed in 1891, in time for the Jubilee Exhibition. Inspired by the Effel Tower it was constructed in only 4 month with 175 tonnes of railway lines and steel. It is a 299 step climb to the observation tower with the lift reserved for the disabled. On a clear day you can see up 150 kms, if you are lucky. On the day I went it was pouring with rain so you were lucky to see a few kms. It was said that during the occupation by the Nazis, Hitler wanted the tower cut down as he believed it spoilt the view from Prague Castle, fortunately this did not take place. One of the easier ways of reaching the tower is to take the Funicular Railway up the hill.

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If you, like me, like seeing a place from up high, then this is your place.
Head to Petrin Hill and take the Funicular, or walk if you wish (!) up the hill to the observation tower.
This tower resembles the top bit of the Eiffel tower, but its only 60m. It does offer stunning views though due to it being build on top of Petrin Hill (320m), so you are treated to a fantastic view after you have climbed up the 300 steps. That is a real calorie burner after all the beers from the night before... as it was in my case.
Please note that the elevator is only for use by elderly or disabled visitors.

Please also note that its open Sat and Sun from Jan - Mar and Nov and December.
Other months its open daily.

the observation tower was built in 1891 as part of the 1891 jubilee exhibition. the observation tower was fashioned after the eiffel tower in paris. the tower is 200 ft high and you must take 299 steps up the spiraL stairway to the top. on a clear day you can get a fabulous view of prague.

Built for the 1891 Prague Jubilee Exhibition, the Observation Tower (Rozhledna) on the 318m Petrin Hill affords magnificent views of the city sprawled like an open canvas below. Or, on a clear day Snĕžka, Bohemia's highest peak 150km to the NE.

Although at around 60m and only a quarter of the height of the Eiffel Tower after which it was modelled, when you take the height of hill into account it makes a spectacular viewing platform - though there are no lifts to help you climb the 299 steps to the top... ;-)

There is a charming cafe on the ground floor and a wonderfully hilariously quirky museum charting the life of the tower's architect - who for the longest time I couldn't remember his name! Now thanks to http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/f7d58/ (Cheers Kev!) I know his name is Jára Cimrman - someone who deserves greater recognition outside of his own country!

This is a great place to come for breathtaking picture opportunities and also the terrific sense of achievement of having reached the top under your own steam!