Photo: Juan Pablo Bertazza, Radio Prague International
A long-awaited new pedestrian bridge connecting Prague’s districts of Holešovice and Karlín officially opened to the public on Friday. The Štvanice footbridge is named after the island it crosses, but it is also referred to as HolKa, girl in Czech, after the two districts it connects.
The minimalist footbridge spanning the Vltava River from Holešovice and Karlín was designed by architects Petr Tej, Marek Blank and Jan Mourek. It is made of special concrete, resembling marble, which has excellent mechanical properties. It is durable, frost-resistant, and has a high-quality surface which prevents water from leaking in, one of its authors, Petr Tej, told Radio Prague International:
“The structure should last 200 years without any maintenance. The other special feature is its seamless connection with the Bubny Embankment. The last part can be vertically raised. There is a hydraulic mechanism in the pillar in Holešovice that allows the whole footbridge to be raised by three metres in the event of a flood.”
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Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Juan Pablo Bertazza