Today, the historical water tower will reopen after reconstruction in Letná

Praha - In Prague 7 in Letná, the historic water tower will reopen this afternoon after reconstruction. It will serve children, providing space for one class of a kindergarten and a children's and youth house. The ceremonial opening is scheduled for 5:00 PM, and the city district has also prepared a complementary program with workshops for children. The first three weeks of June will feature guided tours and themed children's workshops in the water tower.

For the reconstruction, which began in November 2016, the city district paid 62 million crowns, of which 38 million was obtained by the municipality from the capital city and European funds. The reconstruction project was prepared by the studio of Petr Hájek architects. In the highest part of the tower, where the main water tank used to be, a social hall has been created. From the hall, there is access to a terrace and a cabin where a periscope will be installed in the future, allowing for a view over the tall surrounding buildings and a look at the wide surroundings. A periscope with a powerful telescope is currently being manufactured.

In the summer, the children's and youth house will return to the tower, which operated there before the reconstruction. The tower will have club rooms and a club library. From September, a new kindergarten class for 22 children will operate in the adjacent building.

In addition to the tower and the extension, the surrounding area has been modified, where, among other things, the original historical pump has been reconstructed. The monumentally protected pump, which dates back to the 1880s and was originally located in Prague 2, has received a new coat of paint, and the city district is consulting with conservationists about restoring two lamps that were previously part of it.

The water tower in Letná was built between 1887 and 1888. The structure was part of the waterworks complex that supplied water to the upper part of Holešovice and Bubeneč. It was decommissioned from waterworks operation in 1913. Since then, the complex has undergone several reconstructions, and only the tower has survived in its original form, which has been protected as a monument since 1992.