Lesser Town: Picturesque district dominated by the St. Nicholas Church

Difficulty Rating: Moderate to Difficult
Route Length: 2 km
Download: Four Accessible Walks in Prague 1

The terrain on the route is very demanding in several sections, often paved with rough historical cobblestones (locally referred to as catsʼ heads) with pronounced lateral slopes of the sidewalks, so in some shorter stretches it is necessary to use a road. But all adventurers will be rewarded by a delightful rest in quiet gardens hidden behind the palace walls of the Lesser Town, as well as the unusual architecture of this charming neighbourhood. We strongly recommended an escort for this route.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION

|→ Klárov → U Lužického semináře → Kampa →

The tour begins at the Klárov traffic junction. The nearest tram stop is the partially accessible “Malostranská”, and a wheelchair inaccessible metro stationof the same name.

The route first leads us over a pedestrian crosswalk with traffic lights and with lowered curbs to Letenská Street. The surface of Letenská Street is a coarse pavement; moreover, it is necessary to overcome the tram tracks. The sidewalk of U Lužického semináře Street is predominantly paved with mosaic tiles with a combination of transversal (up to 5 %) and longitudinal slope (up to 4 %). Additionally, the driveways by the entrances to the adjacent buildings along the route are, in the whole width of the sidewalk, in a pronounced transversal slope and have rough surfaces.

Through a relatively inconspicuous entrance in the perimeter of the Baroque wall we will enter the Vojan Garden (Vojanovy sady). The Vojan Garden has the character of an English park, and besides ornamental trees and three Baroque chapels, the orchard’s main attraction are free-range peacocks. Part of the Vojan Garden is a children’s playground with sanitary facilities including a modified toilet. However, a non-compliant ramp leads to the bathroom (up to 18%).

Continuing along U Lužického semináře Street, we reach a small square. From the crossing with Míšeňská Street, where we will go down the pavement over a lowered curb, we continue via the road with rough historical pavement. (The traffic is moderate and the movement of tourists on these roads is a common phenomenon in the Lesser Town, of which drivers are aware.)

The route continues under the arch of Charles Bridge towards Kampa, where the surface of the road is made of smaller granite cobblestones or asphalt.

Kampa is a small island, separated from the Lesser Town by the artificial Vltava canal called Čertovka. The construction of the canal Rožmberk River enabled water flow regulation for mills, of which three survived to the present day. Among them are the Sova Mills (Sovovy mlýny) that today, after an extensive renovation and a modern addition, house an art museum - Museum Kampa - with an important collection of 20th century paintings and sculpture. Kampa Park is a relaxing place, offering a pleasant environment with benches and beautiful views of the river and Charles Bridge along its riverside brick wall. Access to public toilets with a well-modified toilet is, again, complicated by an unsuitable ramp (15% slope).

→ Maltézské náměstí Square → Prokopova → Karmelitská →

Continuing along an asphalt road and over a small bridge, we leave Kampa and reach a quiet garden of the Nostický Palace. We walk through the garden to Nosticova Street, where we must once again cross a quiet road paved with rough cobbles. We can then continue via the right-hand sidewalk with mosaic tiles all the way to Maltézské Square. Its area is defined by several smaller palaces. The largest and most significant is the Baroque Nostický Palace, decorated with statues of imperators and a Rococo style portal.

We will take advantage of the crossing with lowered curbs at the intersection of Lázeňská Street and turn to Prokopova. Make sure to look back at the Church of Church of Our Lady beneath the Chain (Kostel Panny Marie pod řetězem), which is one of the most notable sacral monuments of Prague.

The right-hand sidewalk (with an occasional lateral slope) of Prokopova Street will take us to Karmelitská Street. Continuing along Karmelitská St. we can, with a small detour, view the Church of Our Lady Victorious. Originally a late Renaissance Lutheran church, it was rebuilt by the Carmelites after the Battle of White Mountain (1620). The world-renowned relic housed here is the venerated wax statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague, a 16th century Spanish work. The church entrance is, unfortunately, accessed via a staircase; even the side entrance is wheelchair-inaccessible.

In the opposite direction, Karmelitská St. will lead us via its right-hand sidewalk to Malostranské Square (Malostranské náměstí), dominated by St. Nicholas Church (Chrám sv. Mikuláše), an excellent work by the accomplished builders of the Baroque, father and son, Christopher and Kilian Dientzenhofer. Regrettably, this church is also wheelchair inaccessible.

→ Malostranské náměstí Square → Letenská → Klárov →|

Via an archway at the south-eastern side of Malostranské Square (Malostranské náměstí), we approach Mostecká Street.

Here, we can again make a detour and head toward Charles Bridge. We will take the right-hand side of Mostecká St. using a wide mosaic paved sidewalk. The crossing over Lázeňská Street has lowered curbs and a pronounced slope (up to 18%) and the road surface, which it overcomes, is of a rough pavement. A curb ramp from the sidewalk to the road is located before the streat reaches the bridge. The narrow walkway in the passage under the Lesser Town Bridge Towers (Malostranské mostecké věže) has an extremely restricted pass-through width. It is therefore advisable to continue via the road from the sidewalk in Mostecká Street that later turns into a pedestrian zone.

We return to Malostranské Square the same way and further continue our tour around the Kaiserštejnský Palace, the U Flavínů House, and Malostranská Beseda located on the eastern side of the square.

We turn using the right-hand side sidewalk onto Letenská Street. A look back at the opposite side, to the church of St. Thomas’s curved façade, rebuilt by Dientzenhofer, makes it clear why the High Baroque style is sometimes termed “dynamic“.

We continue via Letenská Street, along the building of the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic, past which we use the crosswalk with lowered curbs to proceed on the other side of the street. The surface of the road is again of a coarse pavement, moreover, it is necessary to cross the tram tracks.

The wooden gate located just by the crosswalk leads us to the Baroque Wallenstein Garden (Valdštejnská zahrada), one of the most beautiful places in Prague. It is part of the vast palace complex built by Albrecht of Wallenstein, Duke of Frýdlant. The palace now houses the Senate of the Czech Republic. This barrier-free garden with a large Salla Terrena, fountains and magnifi cent sculptures is open to the public during the day from April to October.
In the garden there is a gallery of bronze sculptures depicting figures from Greek mythology by Dutch sculptor Adrien de Vries. The sculptures on display are replicas of the originals, which were taken from Prague by the Swedish army as spoils of war at the end of the Thirty Years’ War.

We exit the garden using the eastern gate near the lake with a square ground plan, and continue to Klárov, the starting point of the route. Here we can conclude the walk by visiting the Wallenstein Riding School (Valdštejnská jízdárna) gallery with short-term exhibitions of the National Gallery.

 

Recommended Landmarks on the Route

Sova Mills (Sovovy mlýny) – Museum Kampa
U Sovových mlýnů 2, Praha 1, www.museumkampa.cz

• access via the side entrance from the south-east side (double-leaf gate: width 2x172 cm)
• access to the exhibition area through the courtyard with rough stone tiles and a longitudinal slope (10-13%)
• narrowed entrance to the permanent exhibition Konírna (double-leaf door width 2 x 52 cm)
• narrowed entrance to the short-term exhibition Gallery Museum Kampa (double-leaf door width 2 x 60 cm)
• interior manoeuvring space is sufficient
• a lift (automatically opening door: width 119 cm; cage: width 130 cm, depth 240 cm) connecting the ground floor to the 3rd floor of the Gallery Museum Kampa
• vertical platform lift (platform area: width 104 cm, depth 130 cm, load capacity 500 kg) in the exhibition on the 3rd floor
• vertical platform lift (platform area: width 102 cm, depth 120 cm, load capacity 500 kg) on t he terrace on the 3rd floor
• accessible toilet on the ground floor of the Gallery Museum Kampa (door width 90 cm; cabin width 182 cm, depth 242 cm)
  
  

Wallenstein Garden (Valdštejnská zahrada)
Valdštejnské náměstí 17/4, Praha 1, www.senat.cz

• access via the side entrance from Letenská Street (single-leaf door: width 85 cm)
• access via the side entrance from Klárov (single-leaf door: width 90 cm, threshold height 4 cm) over a road with rough tiles
• interior manoeuvring space is sufficient
• passages minimum width of 80 cm
• crusher fines surfaces of the paths
• slope of area pathways maximum 2%
• partially accessible toilet on the left side of the Salla Terrena (door width 102 cm; cabin: width 248 cm, depth 158 cm)
  
  

Wallenstein Riding School (Valdštejnská jízdárna)
Valdštejnská 3, Praha 1, www.ngprague.cz

• access from a raised gallery in the area near the metro station (double-leaf door width 2x84 cm)
• interior manoeuvring space is sufficient
• passages minimum width of 80 cm
• a lift (automatically opening glass door width 80 cm; cage: width 120 cm, depth 130 cm) interconnecting the basement up to the 1st floor
• modified toilet in the basement (door width 80 cm; cabin: width 146 cm, depth 138 cm)

 

TOILETS

Public Toilet: Kampa Park

• located in a separate building
• access over a steep ramp (slope 15%, width 175 cm, length 350 cm)
• access via the main entrance (single-leaf door width 93 cm)
• interior manoeuvring space is sufficient
• accessible toilet (door width 80 cm; cabin: width 183 cm, depth 199 cm)
• space next to the toilet bowl is suffi cient (width 93 cm)
• the toilet bowl is equipped with two folding handles

Detailed descriptions of the accessibility of the recommended and other properties on the route can be found at pragueaccessibilitymap.eu.