Arch under renovated Negrelli Viaduct now open as social and cultural venue
The Negrelli Viaduct, the iconic railway bridge that carries trains across the Vltava between Holešovice/Bubeneč and Karlín, now has a social and cultural space nestled within one of its arches.
Created by adding a glass front to one of the viaduct’s giant arches, the new space can found at the intersection of the Sokolovská and Prvního pluku streets in the Karlín district of Prague. Its construction, which included the addition of an upper level, was carried out by the city-owned company TSK Prague. The venue was then furnished and is now managed by Trade Centre Prague. It is intended primarily for organising non-commercial events, and a trial operation will run for two years. In the future, the city wants to utilise up to 40 arches of the viaduct and create spaces for galleries, social events or commercial rental.
Built between 1846 and 1849, the viaduct was declared a Czech cultural monument in 1964, a status that posed a challenge for engineers. To protect the viaduct, the components of the new space could not be anchored to the stone. Instead, the glass wall is held in place by a precise metal structure. The installation of the venue follows the complete reconstruction of the viaduct between 2017 and 2020, which cost almost two billion crowns.
