Hlávkův bridge
If we seek the widest bridge in our country, it would be Hlávkův bridge. It connects the right riverbank of Ludvík Svoboda and Rohanské riverbank with the left riverbank of Captain Jaroš and Bubenské riverbank. At the same time it connects the island Štvanice with both riverbanks. It is the twelfth bridge over the Vltava River in Prague.
Noteworthy about the bridge is its name or the fact that it as one of the few has never been changed. It is named after a philanthropist and builder Joseph Hlávka. The construction of the bridge was initiated by a construction of a slaughterhouse in Prague’s Holešovice. It was built gradually, from two parts, in terms of material. In the years 1908 - 1910 the iron part was built and in the years 1910 - 1911 the concrete part. Renovation and expansion were done in the years 1958 - the 1962. During the reconstruction only a part of its decoration was intact and the iron part was replaced with the reinforced concrete.
The bridge is made up of seven arches. Its decorations were designed by Bohumil Kafka and Ladislav Kofránek, the reliefs are over 2.5 meters high, and were carved directly into the concrete. In the corners of the main arches there are 12 medallions of the twelve leaders from Josef Maratka and Otto Gutfreund. The medallions depict the people who were responsible for building of the bridge. It is strange that the architect Pavel Janák and engineer František Mencl – the designers of the bridge – do not have their medallions.
Hlávkův bridge is the last bridge, which can be reached on regular cruises our company offers. The PPS boats PPS sail beyond Hlávkův most on their regular voyages to the Zoo in Troja.