Rudolfova štola — Attraction in Prague

Tunel vyražený mezi lety 1589 až 1593 pro zásobování Královské obory vodou o délce 1098 metrů překonává výškový rozdíl hladin Vltavy 110 cm. Štola probíhá asi 45 metrů pod terénem a dnešní zástavbou Letné. Konce jsou obezděné cihlami, dno pokryté keramickými žlabovkami. Ve Stromovce je ukončená zděným portálem, zdobeným korunkou, letopočtem dokončení stavby (1593) a iniciálou R (Rudolf II.).

Zachovány jsou i čtyři téměř čtyřicetimetrové průduchy, které sloužily při výstavbě. Jeden z nich je vidět v Čechově ulici a je zakryt věžičkou, další pak vyúsťuje do parku na Letné (u tenisové haly). Věžička, která je vidět v Čechově ulici před domem čo. 16 je odbočná chodba z hlavní šachty č. 2 a jde o úpravu z roku 1906. Šachta č. 2 končí totiž ve vozovce a je zakrytá litinovým poklopem.

Po rekonstrukci v roce 1991 byla štola při příležitosti 100. výročí Jubilejní zemské výstavy v Praze částečně zpřístupněna veřejnosti, ale záhy byla opět uzavřena pro nevyhovující technický stav.

The tunnel, blasted between 1589 and 1593 for supplying the Royal Fields with water, 1098 meters long, surpasses the surface difference of the Vltava by 110 cm. The tunnel is about 45 meters below the terrain and today's urban development of Letná. The tunnel´s both ends are walled with bricks, the bed is covered with ceramic gutters. Stromovka tunnel end is terminate with a brick portal decorated with a crown, with the year of completion of the building (1593) and the initials of R (Rudolf II).

There are also four fourty-meter-long vents preserved that served during construction. One of them is visible in Čechova Street and is covered by a turret, the other one leads to the park in Letná (near the tennis hall). The turret which is visible in Čechova Street in front of the house nr. 16 is a branch-off hall from the main shaft No. 2 and it is a modification from 1906. The shaft No. 2 ends in the road and is covered by a cast-iron hatch.

After reconstruction in 1991 the tunnel was partly opened for public on the occasion of the 100th anniversary Jubilee Exhibition in Prague, but was soon closed again for unsatisfactory...

One end of a tunnel commissioned to be built by Emperor Rudolf II between 1584–93, stopping sporadically when money ran out.Emperor Rudolf II never did anything by half measures. When he wanted to maintain artificial fish ponds in Prague’s Stomovka park, he had a kilometer-long tunnel built from the Vltava river, under Letná and into the landscaped wooded area. At the time it was private imperial property used as a game preserve.

This was no small feat. Much of what is known as Rudolfova štola, or Rudolfine Tunnel, had to be built through solid rock centuries before the invention of dynamite.

The keystone of the arch has the letter “R” and an imperial crown — the mark...

As far as historical sewers go, this is a clear winner! It's locked off by a gate, but with a flashlight you can have a shufti. If you could get in, and with hip-high wellintons, and if you're free of claustrophobia and not easily grossed out, you could probably wade upstream for a bit, but you'd have to get in the water. The tunnel is about 3 m high but only...