Vinohrady Water Tower
A neo-Renaissance brick tower above the Vinohrady rooftops
- Area Vinohrady
- Type Landmark
- Time needed 20m
A neo-Renaissance brick water tower of the 1890s standing on the high ground in Vinohrady, above the rooftops at the edge of Korunní and the surrounding streets. It no longer supplies water and is not generally open; what you get is the tower itself, seen from the small square at its foot. It is a two-minute stop on a Vinohrady walk, not a visit in itself.
Open in the planner →Getting there
Metro line A to Jiřího z Poděbrad, then about seven minutes east on foot along Korunní; tram 10 or 16 along Vinohradská also puts you within a few minutes. From Staroměstské náměstí it is roughly 20 minutes, walking to Muzeum or Náměstí Míru and taking metro line A two or three stops. The approach is a gentle uphill through residential streets, nothing demanding, and the pavement runs right to the base of the tower.
What you see
The tower is a tall square brick shaft with stone banding, arched windows at the upper stages and a bracketed cornice under a steep roof — the kind of civic engineering the 1890s dressed as architecture. From the open ground at its foot you can see the whole elevation, which is impossible with most Prague towers wedged into streets. The surrounding blocks are solid late-nineteenth-century Vinohrady apartment buildings with decorated facades, and the walk to and from the tower through them is the more interesting half of the stop. Looking back west along Korunní the ground falls away towards the centre. The interior is closed except for occasional events.
What to pair it with
Plečnik's Church of the Most Sacred Heart on Jiřího z Poděbrad is a short walk west. Žižkov begins just north, and Olšany Cemetery is a walk east.
When to go
Any time; there is nothing to open or close at street level. Late afternoon and evening light suits the brick, which goes warm orange against the sky. Sunday mornings in Vinohrady are quiet and pleasant for the surrounding walk. Winter strips the trees around the base and gives a clearer view of the shaft.
What is hard about it
This is a few minutes and a photograph. You cannot normally go inside or up, so there is no view from the top and no exhibition; people who travel out specially are disappointed. It is surrounded by ordinary residential streets with little to do nearby, and there is no visitor provision of any kind — no signage in English, no toilets, no cafe at the foot. Fold it into a Vinohrady or Žižkov walk rather than making a trip of it.
Common questions
How long do you need at the Vinohrady Water Tower?
Five to ten minutes. It is a stop on a walk through Vinohrady, not a destination.
Can you go up the tower?
Not normally. It is closed to the public except for occasional open days or events, so do not count on getting inside.
Is it worth a detour?
Only if you are already walking in Vinohrady or heading between Jiřího z Poděbrad and Olšany. On its own it does not justify the journey.
Nearby
More of the same kind
- Charles BridgeThirty baroque statues on a fourteenth-century stone bridge
- Wenceslas SquareNot a square but a boulevard, and the stage for 1968 and 1989
- Prague astronomical clockThe 1410 clock on the Old Town Hall, with the apostles on the hour
- Old Town SquareThe medieval square the city turns around, ringed by gabled houses