For the public, the entire Deer Moat was exceptionally opened over the weekend

Prague - The Prague Castle exceptionally opened the entire Deer Moat to the public over the weekend. From the next tourist season, this unique natural ravine under the Castle is intended to be permanently accessible. The upper part of the Deer Moat is already open, while construction work continues in the lower part. The presidential office is also negotiating with the police about easing security checks when entering the Deer Moat or the Royal Garden. Visitors to the Prague Deer Moat may not have to undergo security checks starting April 2023. The presidential office is pursuing this, its spokesperson Vít Novák stated today. However, this weekend, visitors still need to expect checks. Any potential access to the moat without checks does not affect entry to Prague Castle, as there has been no decision made regarding their cancellation yet.

President Miloš Zeman is facing criticism for the fact that under his era, Prague Castle has become too closed off to the public. Many people are unhappy that the area has effectively ceased to be passable after implementing security checks; they have also criticized the long-term closure of part of the gardens, including the Deer Moat. Castle officials justified the closures by the demanding repairs, and according to the presidential office, security checks were implemented at the request of the police.

"It still applies today that visitors will go through security checks provided by the police. From the beginning of the next season, that is, from April 2023, our goal as the president's office is to have the Deer Moat plus some parts, such as the Shooting Path, exempted from the so-called security perimeter. This means we want to push for the fact that from the new season, visitors who only want to walk through the Deer Moat will not have to go through security checks," Novák told reporters.

After extensive construction modifications, the upper part of the Deer Moat is currently accessible. In the lower Deer Moat, from where the preserved walls and several towers can be seen, it is still a construction site.

The management of Prague Castle has taken technical measures to allow the entire Deer Moat to be opened to the public on the last weekend of October. They promise that from the next tourist season, it will be permanent.

Access to the Deer Moat from Klárov and Nový Svět is more strenuous and not barrier-free; on the contrary, the entrance from the Powder Bridge is more accessible, the Castle pointed out.

Another goal of the presidential office is to ease the regime of security checks for visitors to Prague Castle. However, according to them, the decision depends on the position of the police. The Office of the President of the Republic, according to Novák, does not insist on the checks in any way and is already requesting their cancellation or that they be only random.

The Deer Moat, through which the Brusnice stream flows, is divided into upper and lower parts by the embankment of the Powder Bridge with a pedestrian tunnel designed by architect Josef Pleskot. During communism, people were not allowed into this extensive ravine, just as in other areas of the castle grounds; it only opened after the revolution during President Václav Havel's era. In 2017, some entrances to the lower part of the moat were closed citing security measures. The following year, the Castle announced that the lower part of the Deer Moat would be closed for reconstruction, which was originally expected to last ten months but was prolonged. Its upper part, which was closed due to work related to a sewer failure, opened last year. In the lower part, the historic walls and towers are still being repaired.