You probably know all about Prague’s famed Petřín Funicular, which brings tourists and locals from the streets of lower Malá Strana up to the top of Petřín Hill. It closed down for lengthy repairs in 2015, but re-opened to the public earlier this year.
But did you know that just a few blocks away there’s a second, “secret” funicular hidden behind the Hotel NH Prague City (formerly the Mövenpick Hotel)?
Operated by the Hotel, this tiny red funicular takes riders from lower Smíchov up to Mrázovka Park, which features the Hotel’s restaurant, boasting excellent views of the city, along with a local school campus.
Unlike it’s Petřín cousin, the NH Prague City Funicular doesn’t have a driver; instead, it’s a self-service model that individual passengers operate like an elevator. For that reason, it’s often called an “inclined elevator.”
It also means the Funicular can be ridden for free, and is open to the public 24 hours a day.
The journey to the top via the Funicular, which has standing room for a maximum of 12 people, takes about 1.5 minutes and covers an elevation of 51 meters.
Here’s the funicular in action from YouTube channel Dopravní net:
The NH Prague City Funicular (built in 1996) and its more famous Petřín cousin may be the only funiculars currently operating in Prague, but they weren’t the first.
A Letná Funicular was constructed at the same time as the Petřín project, and opened a few months before it in 1891. It carried passengers from the bottom of the hill at Štefánikův most up to Letenský zámeček before being shut down for good in 1922.