A recently announced plan by the Czech Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽ) to demolish and replace a historically significant rail bridge in Prague has sparked outrage among architects, preservationists, and the public alike. Featuring a distinct parabolic steel-girder structure, the landmark bridge spans the Vltava river and was built in 1901 by the late Habsburg-era engineer František Prášil, who also designed the nearby Petřín Lookout Tower (inspired by the Eiffel Tower) and, together with Bedřich Münzberger, the Industrial Palace for the city’s 1891 Jubilee Exhibition. The plan highlights issues of historic preservation that have plagued Prague in recent years, especially since a 2008 incident where the planned construction of high-rise buildings threatened the city’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In 2004, the crossing—often dubbed the Vyšehrad Bridge for its proximity to the castle of the same name—was declared a National Cultural Landmark by the Czech Ministry of Culture, which cited the structure as an integral part of the cultural and industrial heritage of Prague and, in particular, of the Smíchov district on the west bank of the Vltava. Despite the bridge’s significance, in May 2021 SŽ sponsored a design competition seeking a replacement that canw accommodate increased rail traffic. The winning scheme, submitted by 2T Engineering with architect Iveta Torkoniaková, proposed preserving the structure’s stone piers and, to the surprise of many, replacing everything else. During a discussion at the National Technical Museum in Prague on January 18, 2023, Torkoniaková stated that a design goal was to achieve as much transparency as possible. However, this “transparency” would deprive the Prague cityscape of an important and longstanding visual axis connecting Vyšehrad castle and the Smíchov neighborhood.
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