Prague City Museum pays tribute to ancient rafting tradition with audiovisual installation
The Prague City Museum is once again bridging tradition with contemporary audiovisual art -this time by recalling the nearly forgotten craft of timber rafting. In cooperation with the Lunchmeat collective, it has created a light and sound installation on an authentic wooden raft on the Vltava River.
The installation, which can be seen on a floating wooden raft near Výtoň Bridge below Vyšehrad, pays tribute to rafting as a UNESCO-listed cultural heritage craft and is inspired by Bedřich Smetana’s iconic symphonic poem Vltava, which is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its premiere this year.
After dusk, the raft transforms into an immersive light-and-sound experience. The LED profiles dynamically respond to the music and are arranged into a three-dimensional luminous structure evoking the flow of water. The installation merges two motifs—the raft and the river—into one coherent visual message.
The last raft sailed the Vltava 65 years ago, on 12 September 1960, closing a tradition nearly a thousand years old.
“Rafting is a unique part of our cultural history, connecting the river, craftsmanship, and people’s lives for centuries. Even though the last raft sailed the Vltava 65 years ago, its legacy endures and thanks to the work of associations and institutions such as the Prague City Museum, it has won recognition and a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list.” Jiří Pospíšil, Prague Deputy Mayor for Culture, Tourism and Heritage, said at the unveiling of the installation. The audiovisual installation will be on show until September 30th.
