Staroměstská vodárna Museum building

Welcome to one of the quieter yet fascinating pearls of Prague's Old Town. Stop for a moment, take a deep breath and feel the atmosphere of this place. You are standing on the Novotné footbridge, in the immediate vicinity of the famous Charles Bridge, and in front of you is a building that combines practical utility with high art. It is the building of the former City Water Plant, which welcomes you today with its elegant form and tells the story of how the needs of the great city changed and how industrial space can turn into a temple of culture.

If you look at the overall design of the building, you'll see a beautiful representative of the Neo-Renaissance style. This building was not created randomly, but was the result of careful planning at a time when Prague grew rapidly and needed modern systems for water supply. It was built in 1883 and the author of this ambitious design was architect Antonín Wiehl. It was a very important technical object at the time to ensure the smooth running of urban life. So imagine that at a time when the building was new, there were no music tones, but there was a noise of water and the work of the technicians who made sure that the people of Old Town had access to this basic source of life.

I now ask you to pay your full attention to the facade of the building. Look upstairs and look at the facade details. What you see here are so-called sgraffiti. Sgraffito is a fascinating technique in which layers of plaster are scraped off to create a color image. Note that these decorations are not just random patterns. There are both ornamental elements and figural motifs that give the building a noble and playful character. By looking at the facade, you're basically looking at an open-air gallery. The design of these artistic elements involved real masters of their field. Among them was Mikoláš Aleš, which in its style defined the national character of the Czech times, František Ženíšek and Jan Koula. These artists have put their creativity in the appearance of the water factory, which makes the building not a sharp technical object but a real work of art.

Now let's move forward in time. The water plant has been operating for decades, but the world has been constantly evolving. There was a break in 1913. In connection with the establishment of a modern and more efficient water source Káraná, this city water station in the centre of Prague was no longer needed. Its operation was terminated and the building remained for a time without its original purpose. At this very moment, however, the road to a new, perhaps even rarer role has opened up.

In 1936, on the 12th of May, the building was reborn. It became the seat of the Bedřich Smetana Museum. It's a very symbolic connection. The building that once supplied the city with water has now started supplying people with spiritual food in the form of music and history of one of the most important Czech composers. Bedřich Smetana, the father of Czech national music, found its permanent refuge in these walls. Since then, visitors from all over the world discover the secrets of his creation, study his life and get inspired by his genius composites. This transformation from technical equipment to museum is a beautiful example of how historical memory can be preserved and given a new, meaningful life.

You may now be wondering if this building was the first in this place. The history of this particular piece of Prague is much deeper than you could imagine from the 1883 architecture perspective. If we went back in time to the fifth century, we would find that there have been mills and water towers here since then. This tells us that this place was strategically selected centuries ago because of its proximity to water and its use. The Antonín Wiehl building therefore only followed a long tradition of water industry in this location. It's a fascinating notion that beneath the feet of today's Neo-Renaissance building lies a layer of medieval history.

Today Staroměstská vodárna is duly registered in the Central List of Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic. This means that the state recognises its extraordinary value, not only in terms of architecture but also in terms of its contribution to Czech culture and history. When you stand in front of this building today, you see a connection between several worlds. You see the engineering of the nineteenth century, the visual art of famous painters and the musical legacy of Bedrich Smetana.

Notice how the building harmoniously fits into the vicinity of the Novotné footbridge. It is a place where urban tourism slowly calms down and gives room for reflection. It's the perfect place for you to take a short break and look at the details I've just described. Try to imagine the contrast between the noisy operation of the water plant from the late nineteenth century and the quiet, respectful environment of the museum, which is the building today.

Now that you know the story of this building, its origin and its transformation, you are invited to further explore. You can enter and be consumed by the world of Bedřich Smetana, or continue to walk along the banks of the Vltava River and see how the history of old Prague intersects with every stone and facade you pass.

Thank you for stopping by this beautiful monument for a moment. I hope this short trip to history has helped you see the Old Town Waterworks in a new light. I wish you a pleasant continuation in discovering the secrets of our beautiful city. Goodbye.