Though some people - myself included, I have to admit - look upon the rocket-like TV tower with affection - it’s safe to say most Prague residents regard it as an inappropriately located eyesore. Among its strongest critics is architect Martin Krise of the Club for Ancient Prague.


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The unique Žižkov Television Tower was built in Prague between 1985 and 1992 on a Jewish cemetery from 17th Century. It looms above the city’s skyline from its position on top of a hill in the district of Žižkov, from which it takes its name.
The structure of the tower is unconventional; it consists of three concrete pillars that carry cabinets for the transmitters, a restaurant and cafe, and three observation rooms. From afar, the tower resembles a rocket launchpad. The tower is 216 metres high, with the observation decks at 100 metres and the tower restaurant and cafe situated at 63 metres in the lower ‘pods’. Elevators, equipped with speedometers, swiftly transport passengers to the different levels at a rate of 4m/s. The tower weighs 11800 tons and is also used as meteorological observatory. It belongs to the World Federation of Great Towers.

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The tower with crawling “babies”
At 216 meters high, Žižkov Television Tower looms above the skyline of Prague, Czech Republic. Built between 1985 and 1992, its unconventional design consists of three concrete pillars which carry cabinets for the transmitters, a restaurant and cafe, and three observation rooms.
Like many examples of communist-era ‘brutalist’ architecture in Central and Eastern Europe, the TV tower is generally resented and despised by the locals. Although official criticism during the communist era was impossible, unofficially the tower was criticized for its “megalomania” and its “jarring” effect on the Prague skyline.
The tower in the background is considered an eyesore by many locals. It does have several interesting stories attached to it (possibly used by jam Western radio/tv transmissions, the “crawling babies” sculptures, etc.).
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