Merry-go-round brings joy to Praguers for over 130 years
For 130 years a unique carousel, the oldest of its kind not only in Czechia but perhaps in the whole of Europe, has stood on the edge of Prague’s Letenské Sady. It had previously been located in Vinohrady, but only for a couple of years.
The merry-go-round is still located on its original wooden pavilion, built on the plan of a regular dodecagon with a span of 12 meters with a pyramidal roof.
The interior of the carousel is furnished in virtually its original form from 1892. It features 19 horses of various sizes and four toy cars; two of the latter are wooden and two tin and they correspond to cars from the 1930s.
The size of the horses makes it clear that the carousel was built not only for children but also for adults. The wooden horses of different sizes are covered with real horse leather and the largest ones can carry bear a weight of up to 100 kg.
At the beginning of the 21st century, after more than 100 years of operation, the carousel was in critical condition. Fortunately, the National Technical Museum took the lead in efforts to save it and today Praguers can once again enjoy the colourful historical attraction.
