The main reason for the renovation was the necessity to develop proper drainage. For many years, rain water was eroding the wall on the southern side of the steps. Therefore this part had to be repaired, isolated, the rain water drainage had to be built and ancient paving had to be re-laid. Original cobblestones were used where possible; any missing ones were replaced by cobblestones from the same material, the pink Slivenec marble (in Czech only) and Jesenice lime stone. It goes without saying that the works were overseen by archaeologists and experts from The National Institute for the Preservation of Historical Monuments.
The Old Castle Steps became famous mainly due to song by Karel Hašler, who now has his own monument that has only recently been revealed on the upper flight of steps. Even though the Old Castle Steps were built in the 16th century, they gained their current appearance after the major renovation that started in 1835. In the same year Ferdinand I of Austria (in Czech only), the last crowned Czech king, became Austrian Emperor. It was also in this year that Johann Christian Doppler (in Czech only) together with 14 other people applied for the post of Professor of Mathematics and Practical Geometry at the two-year preparatory school under Prague Polytechnic School, and Czech writer and rebel Karel Hynek Mácha described how he made love to a girl in Kampa in his diary, which is today treasured by some as the very first example of written Czech pornography.