The oldest wine cellars in Prague can be found under the famous Letna restaurant
The first mention of the Summer Field (also called Leteň) comes from 1088. At that time, the Czech prince Wrocław II. donated to the Vyšehrad Chapter. During the reign of Charles IV. the plain and the slopes below covered the vineyards.
And another two centuries later, there were already two thousand smaller vineyards in the Czech capital. Unique wine cellars date from this time. They belonged to the old wine press, which was founded here in 1540 by Jan Kulhánek.
The oldest wine cellars in Prague date from 1540.
Photo: Jiří Benák
Although the Letna vineyards were replaced by a park designed by B. Wünscher and J. Braula in 1860, the cellars served their purpose until the late 1930s. Today, hidden behind a peeling and sprayed stone wall, few would look for them. It is a monument, protected by the state since December 1964.
Will reconstructions take place?
The cellar itself has an area of approximately 400 m2, vaulted with the original cross vaults. Plaster is still visible on some parts of the ceiling. A stone portal leads into the adjoining room, into which a steel frame has been insensitively cast in the past. Also, the floors are no longer original.
Several fresh probes here reveal an approximately half-meter-long deposit hidden under a layer of concrete. Above the cellars there is a free open terrace, from which you will visit Letná an amazing panoramic view of the metropolis – from Karlín to Prague Castle.
Directly above the historic cellars is the terrace from which you can visit Letné amazing panoramic views of the metropolis.
Photo: Jiří Benák
The new owner received a cellar at the beginning of this year, together with the iconic building of the former restaurant of the Czechoslovak pavilion at the international exhibition Expo 58 in Brussels.
A few days ago, the Adolf Loos Apartment And Gallery opened a new exhibition hall for the public. In the end, a similar use would suit these historic spaces as well. However, we will hopefully find out in the next supervision how and when the owner will embark on the necessary repairs to Prague’s conservationists.