Description from Prague TV
Visible from many parts of Prague, a long white defensive wall runs across Petřín hill from Strahov to Újezd.

This is the Hladová zeď (Hunger Wall), a medieval defensive wall that fortified the southern part of Malá Strana and the western and southern sides of Prague Castle for more than 500 years, between 1362 and 1848.

The wall was originally called Zubatá ("with teeth") or Chlebová ("bread-like"). The adjective Hladová (hunger) began to be used after a 1361 famine, when the construction of the wall provided livelihood for the city's poor.

The Hunger Wall was built between 1360 and 1362 on the orders of the Holy Roman Emperor and Czech King Karel IV (Charles IV). It's said that Karel IV had the wall built with the aim of helping the poor in Prague at a time of terrible famine, enabling them to earn food for themselves and their families.

However, the construction of the wall was probably just a strategic act. Even though Karel IV's ancestors had built defensive walls, they were too close to inhabited areas. By building the Hunger Wall, the king strengthened Prague's defenses and enlarged the protected area so that the city could develop.

The Hunger Wall (Hladová zeď) has been reconstructed several times, including during the reigns of Ferdinand II and Maria Theresa.

These days, there remains around 1,200 meters of original length of the wall, which was about six meters high and almost two meters wide.

Its inner walkway is protected by battlements and a platform for marksmen. It's assumed that the wall used to have eight bastions. The bastion behind the Štefánik Observatory (Štefánikova Hvězdárna) on Petřín hill offers a nice view of Prague.

Irene Carpintero