Náplavka Riverbank

Those round openings in the embankment wall? They stored ice. For decades, vaults carved into this massive stone wall kept goods cold. Ships arrived here loaded with timber from South Bohemia, and the ice kept everything fresh while rafters unloaded their cargo. The last timber raft floated past in 1947. After that, the riverbank fell quiet. By 2006, people were parking cars where you're standing. The vaults sat empty, their stone entrances blending into the wall so perfectly that locals forgot they existed. Then everything changed. Around 2009, cafés and galleries started opening. A pub called Bajkazyl sparked the transformation. In 2019, the city spent millions renovating these spaces, installing something nobody expected: the world's largest rotating glass windows. Each weighs 2.5 tons and measures 5.4 meters across. They were made in Thailand by an American company, then shipped here just to become doors. Now the vaults house workshops, bars, libraries, and art galleries. Every Saturday, farmers set up market stalls on the lower embankment. Beer festivals draw crowds in June. This stretch between Vyšehrad and Jirásek Bridge went from industrial workspace to parking lot to one of the city's most vibrant social spaces, all in one century.