Powder Tower

The name is misleading on two counts. First, despite being called the Powder Tower, gunpowder was never actually stored here during the tower's original use. Second, it looks medieval but its current appearance is mostly Victorian — the neo-Gothic makeover by architect Josef Mocker between 1875 and 1886 gave the tower its spiky, ornate facade. The original 1475 structure was considerably plainer.

The tower was built as a ceremonial entrance to the Old Town, replacing one of the original 13 city gates dating to the 13th century. Its foundation stone was laid in 1475 by builder Vaclav, with elaborate sculptural decoration added by Matej Rejsek from 1478 onwards. The intention was never defensive — it was a monumental gateway designed to impress anyone entering Prague along the trade route from Kutna Hora, where the royal silver mines financed the kingdom.

This was the starting point of the Royal Road — the coronation route that Bohemian kings walked from here through Old Town, across Charles Bridge, and up to Prague Castle. Every king who claimed the Bohemian crown passed through this gate, making it one of the most symbolically loaded doorways in Europe.

Construction halted abruptly in 1488 when the royal residence moved back to Prague Castle, leaving the tower unfinished for over a century. It finally got a roof in the 1590s. During the Prussian siege of 1757, it suffered significant damage, and then Mocker rebuilt it in the 19th century. At 65 meters tall, its observation gallery offers excellent views over the Old Town and the Municipal House next door.