Prague’s riverside embankment to host popular beer festival
Prague’s riverside embankments are a summertime hotspot for both locals and visitors, with scenic castle views, hosting numerous gastronomic events and farmers markets. On Friday and Saturday, the embankment on Rašínovo nábřeží will host “Pivo na Náplavce”, an annual microbrewery festival.
This year’s 13th edition will present 34 breweries from around the country, along with live music, a flea market with beer memorabilia, and several food trucks. Festival director Jiří Sedláček describes their variety:
“People will be able to sample Balkan specialties, Belgian fries, burgers, guacamole, tacos and quesadillas, Přeštice pork sausages, open-faced sadwiches, rustic pizza, and even quality coffee.”
The event aims to familiarize guests with the Czech microbrewery landscape. Many brewery owners and brew masters attend the event every year to present their products in person. Each summer, visitors get to vote for their favourite brewery – and the three most popular breweries will be announced on Saturday.
The beer festival comes amid the City of Prague’s ongoing efforts to revitalize the waterside promenades, which began in 2018. Reconstruction costs of Prague’s “náplavky”, initially estimated at 309 million Czech crowns, are now projected at 470 million, leading to parts of the project being put off.
Completed and already functional parts of the project include vaults along the embankment wall, historically serving for storage and underground waterways leading to the city centre. They have been transformed into bars, galleries, and cafés.
With large rotating glass doors – costing Prague approximately 700 thousand Czech crowns per piece – and a sleek concrete interior, they received several nominations for both national and international architectural awards.
Ambitious floating pool project postponed
The embankment vault design is the brainchild of architect Petr Janda and his studio, who also presented a plan for a floating pool on the east-bank Náplavka. This would be located right under the Vyšehrad hill, where river baths existed until the 1960s.
Despite the initial go-ahead, resurrection of this swimming tradition at Náplavka will temporarily have to bow to the city’s budgetary restraints. Much to the criticism of Ondřej Prokop, leader of the Prague branch of opposition party ANO:
“It’s a shame, especially for the residents of Prague. Within a couple years, they could have had their ‘náplavky’ fully renovated and a brand new public pool. This is a unique project, which gave Prague the chance to shine on a global stage.”
Bathrooms and seating by the end of the year
As a result of the deferral, the initial phase of reconstructions nears completion, says city councillor Adam Zábranský from the Pirate Party. One of the embankment vaults is set to be turned into public bathrooms, with the search for suitable projects underway.
The placement of benches and other street furniture will go ahead according to the original plan, until the end of 2025. According to the Prague City Council, a similar design could be used elsewhere around the city.
