Libeňský Bridge Will Change (Portal of Prague)

Libeňský Bridge Will Change

The spectacular Libeňský Bridge will become part of the city circuit. It will, however, take some time before this happens. There has been an ongoing discussion about how to proceed with the bridge’s integration into the traffic system, as it is an important architectural monument.

Oskar Exner

At present, this eighty-year old bridge, which is one of the longest bridges in Prague, serves mostly tram traffic. Vehicles drive onto the bridge at about two thirds from the Holešovice side of the river. When the bridge, connecting Holešovice and Libeň was being built, the future development of Prague was taken into account as well as the increase in road traffic.

It was built between the years 1924 and 1928 and it replaced the temporary wooden bridge from the beginning of the 20th century. As was the case many times in Prague’s history, the bridge took on several names following the political climate of each period of time. When it was built, it was named after JUDr. Karel Baxa, who was a long standing mayor of Prague. In 1940, it was renamed Libeňský Bridge and right after the war the name was changed back to Baxa Bridge. Between the years 1952 and 1962 the bridge was called Stalingrad Bridge. Then it was changed back to Libeňský and it has kept that name since. Praguers used this name anyway, no matter what the official name of the bridge was, as it expressed its purpose the best.

Cubist monument

The bridge was designed by Ing. František Mencl and architect Pavel Janák, so there is no wonder that it was built in the Cubist style. The construction uses concrete and has a singular sequencing of arches, there are five of them in Holešovice, in Libeň only one. The bridge is 780 metres long (including the ramp in Maniny), and its width is unusual even for present days – 21 metres. Although it is a cubist bridge, unlike other constructions in Prague, it is very plain and it foreshadows constructivism.

In 2002, the bridge was damaged by floods and its use is somewhat limited. A reconstruction of the bridge has been a matter of discussions for quite some time. Also its possible demolition has been mentioned and its replacement with a new bridge. It is a dilemma between its artistic and technical value and its possible use in present times. The fact is that a new bridge has already been designed with four lanes, a cycle track and, of course, a footpath. Experts estimate that the construction of the new bridge would cost some 150 million crowns (dates from 2005), whereas its reconstruction and preservation as a historical monument would increase the cost by several tens of millions. The variant to pull the bridge down and build its replica is only supported by very few experts. After all, the project, created in 2006, has the bridge 26 metres wide with slip roads exactly as needed by Prague’s inner traffic.

12. November 2008
12. November 2008

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Libeňský Bridge

Is the fourteenth bridge across the Vltava in Prague (counted down stream). With its ramp in Maniny, the 780 metre-long bridge is the longest road bridge. Without the ramp, it measures 370 m. Its predecessor was a temporary wooden construction built in 1903, designed by Ing. Jiří Soukup. Originally it served traffic during the construction of the stone bridge beside the National Theatre, later it was moved to Libeň, where it had to be extended. Its length was 449 m. It was only 7.3 metres wide. In spite of this, it served a two track electrical city line. The construction of the stone bridge started in autumn 1924 following the project of architect. Pavel Janák, Ing. František Mencl and static expert Ing. Dr. Václav Dašek. It was the first bridge that broke the pattern of building 16 metre-wide bridges and started a series of bridges exceeding the width of 20 m. The 21 metre wide Libeňský Bridge is divided into 2x 3.25 m of footpaths and 14.5 m road including the tram track. This concrete bridge with an arch construction has five arches on the Holešovice side ranging from 28 to 42.8 m and there is only one arch on the Libeň side which measures 48 m. There is a frame construction in the middle measuring 6.2 m. The construction was carried out by the following companies: Ing. Bedřich Hlava and Dr. Kratochvíl and Ing. Dr. Karel Skorkovský. The road was made of asphalt with big granite blocks along the tracks. The asphalt road was later replaced by different types. The bridge was open to the public on 29th October 1928 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia. The ribbon, cut by the mayor of Prague of that time, JUDr. Karel Baxa, was tricolour for the first time. During the times of the First Republic, the bridge was called Baxa Bridge, however, it has always been known under the name Libeňský Bridge and it has officially carried this name for a long time, with the exception of a couple of years after the liberation, when it was named Stalingrad Bridge. It is the first bridge with no artistic decoration on it. It is, however a unified artistic whole designed in cubist style.

Source: Prague Information Service