What's in a Prague street name

Barrandovský most (Barrandov Bridge) was built between 1978 and 1988.

In the 1700s already, there was a pontoon bridge here – a pontoon bridge being a bridge that uses floats, or shallow draft-boats to continuously support traffic.

For those of you wanting to see an example and also dream of warmer weather, here’s a picture of the Puente de Barcas in Seville, taken in 1851 (a year before it was demolished).

After Czechoslovakia became independent, there was talk of introducing two bridges, one to connect Hlubočepy (Prague 5) with Braník, and another to connect Dívčí hrady (also Prague 5) with Kavčí hory (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/09/26/prague-4-day-183-na-kavcich-horach/).

After World War II, it was decided to build a single bridge itself. For anyone who gets a little bit impatient at the smallest delay, the design for the bridge was agreed upon in the not-particularly-immediately-postwar month of August 1976.

Work on the (decidedly brutalist) bridge started in 1983, with one part being opened in 1983, and the other in 1988. In those still-communist times, it was called Most Antonína Zápotockého, Zápotocký having been PM from 1948 to 1953, and president from 1953 until his death in 1957.

Far be it from me to tempt fate in multiple locations around the globe right now, but I feel the desire to point out that he died in office.

In 1990, the bridge was renamed after Barrandov, an area of Prague 5 that I’ll say little about for now, but am seriously looking forward to getting onto.

On the eastern bank – the one we’re on for now – there’s a hard-to-miss sculpture by Josef Klimeš called ‘Rovnováha’ (Balance), nicknamed ‘Červ dobyvatel’ (the Conqueror Worm); see https://sochyamesta.cz/zaznam/20827.

It’s not in the greatest condition (fittingly, it doesn’t seem to have lost its balance, though), and there is talk in Prague City Hall about replacing it with a copy.

In terms of vehicles, Barrandovský most is the busiest street in Prague (Nuselský most (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/21/prague-2-day-86-nuselsky-most/) carries more people, though, thanks to the metro). Apparently, Barrandovský most had the pleasure of about 142,000 cars a day in 2023.

The bridge underwent its first major reconstruction from 2022 to 2024; YouTube has loads of videos about it if that’s your thing.

I almost forgot to mention: the architect of the bridge was Karel Filsak (1917-2000), also responsible for Terminal 1 at Prague Airport and the Hotel Intercontinental (now Fairmont Golden Prague; https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/29/prague-1-day-223-namesti-curieovych/).