This 318m-high hill is one of Prague’s largest green spaces. It’s great for quiet, tree-shaded walks and fine views over the ‘City of a Hundred Spires’. Most of the attractions atop the hill, including a lookout tower and mirror maze, were built in the late 19th to early 20th century, lending the place an old-fashioned, fun-fair atmosphere.
Once upon a time the hill was draped with vineyards, and you can still see the quarry that provided stone for most of Prague's Romanesque and Gothic buildings. The huge stone fortifications that run from Újezd to Strahov, cutting across Petřín's peak, are called the Hunger Wall. It was built in 1362 under Charles IV, constructed by the city's poor in return for food under an early job-creation scheme.
In the peaceful Kinský Garden (Kinského zahrada), on the southern side of Petřín, is the 18th-century wooden Church of St Michael (kostel sv Michala), transferred here, log by log, from the village of Medveďov in Ukraine. Such structures are rare in Bohemia, though still common in Ukraine and northeastern Slovakia.
Petřín is easily accessible on foot from Strahov Monastery, or you can ride the funicular railway from Újezd up to the top. You can also get off two-thirds of the way up at Nebozízek, where there is a good restaurant.
