The Mirror Maze on Petrín Hill / Zrcadlové bludište na Petríne (Prague)
N 50° 05.006 E 014° 23.779
33U E 456811 N 5548081
The Mirror Maze (Zrcadlové bludište), one of former exhibition halls of 1891 General Land Centennial Exhibition in Prague-Holešovice, nowadyas belongs among tourist attractions of Petrín Hill in Prague' Castle vicinity.
Waymark Code: WMNFVM
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 03/08/2015
Views: 54
The Mirror Maze (Zrcadlové bludište), one of former exhibition halls of 1891 General Land Centennial Exhibition in Prague-Holešovice, nowadyas belongs among tourist attractions of Petrín Hill in Prague' Castle vicinity.
Originally, the Mirror Maze on Petrin Hill was built as an exhibition hall for the Czech Tourist Club at the General Land Centennial Exhibition in 1891. The master carpenter Matej Bilek built it according to the design of architect Antonin Wiehl. The maze may have been inspired by the mirror maze of the Viennese Prater.
The wooden structure of the maze was originally situated near the corner of the Industrial Palace. Two years later, it was relocated to Petrin Hill near the observation tower. It was inspired by the former Gothic gateway of Vyšehrad, referred to as "Špicka" ("The Spire"), built after the mid-14th century by Charles IV. Thus, the structure reflects the ideas of the Gothic building style at the end of the 19th century.
The central hall features the diorama depicting Prague inhabitants in the battle against the Swedes on Charles Bridge in 1648. This unusual threedimensional scene combined with the painting of Prague Castle in the background was made by the brothers Adolf and Karel Liebschers and Vojtech Bartonek.
Over time, mirrors were installed in the two side halls. The left hall (the Hall of Laughter) was equipped with convex and concave mirrors in 1911. There are 35 ordinary and 15 distorting mirrors in the mirror maze altogether.