Petrin Hill, located near Prague Castle, is a hill with plenty of greenery. It is a high hill where you can be in touch with nature and watch the view of Prague.

This place should definitely be on your list of places to visit in Prague, because it is the heart of nature in Prague. Since Petrin Hill comes after Prague Castle on our route, I will start from the top. However, you will find out how to get to Petrin Hill and how to visit it in this article.

You can reach the 320 meter high Petrin Hill from Prague Castle or you can walk from the Charles Bridge. You can also take the funicular, but you won’t be able to experience the magnificent nature of Prague on the funicular. Being on foot is a bit tiring, but it is worth it.

You can get off at the Üjezd stop where lines 6, 9, 12, 20, 22, 22, 57, 58 and 59 pass below and walk about 200 meters north to the funicular stop. The distance between the Üjezd stop of the funicular and the Petrin stop is 500 meters. There is one more stop in between, for those who want to go to the Nebozizek restaurant, which has a nice view but we did not taste the food.

Petrin Tower

The most prominent building on Petrin Hill is the Petrin Observation Tower. The Petrin Tower was built in 1991, inspired by the Eiffel Tower. It is possible to climb to the top of the 60 meter high tower.

You can reach the top of the Petrin Tower after 299 steps. However, you can use the elevator for a fee and save dozens of steps for the return. When you get to the top of the Petrin Tower, especially when the weather is clear, you will have a wonderful view of Prague’s cityscape. The view of Prague below your feet will offer you Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, St. Vitus Cathedral and many other unforgettable sights. Petrin Tower is open daily from 10:00 to 22:00.

Mirror Maze in Petrin Park

The entertainment tent was specially built for an exhibition and later moved to Petrin Hill, right next to the Petrin Tower. Inside the structure there is a fun mirrored maze. Entering through the entrance door, reaching the exit, losing your way and seeing dozens of yourself while reaching the exit is the fun part of the museum.

In another area there is a group of mirrors that make visitors look crooked, tall, fat or thin. You can have fun here too. In one of the rooms there is a diorama. Created in 1891 for an exhibition of the Czech Tourist Club, the diorama depicts a 1648 battle on Charles Bridge against the Swedes. The museum is open from 10:00 to 22:00 in summer and from 10:00 to 18:00 in winter.

Stefanik Observatory

Another building to visit on Petrin Hill is the observation tower, built in 1928. Named after the Slovak observer Milan Rastislav Stefanik, it houses telescopes that are still active. This place is of particular interest to amateur astronomers.

Memorial to the Victims of Communism

There is a very meaningful monument at the entrance of Petrin Park. It was built between 1948 and 1969 on behalf of the victims of Czechoslovakia. Especially this monument clearly explains what political prisoners went through. While a human figure can be seen in the foreground, over time we can see the parts and limbs that have broken off from these figures.

The monument was created by sculptor Olbram Zoubek in 2002 and you can see a bronze line dividing the steps into two. The inscriptions on this line show the number of people affected by communism.

205,486 imprisoned, 170,938 exiled, 4,500 died in prisons, 327 shot while trying to escape, 248 executed…