Amusement park in Prague (mostly known under the traditional name ''Lunapark'', which is a common name of amusement parks in Czech), is situated in the territory of the Prague Fairground

Výstaviště Praha Výstaviště in Prague is an exhibition ground which is used for exhibitions, concerts and other cultural events, founded in 1891. It is located in Bubeneč near the metro station on Metro line C Nádraží Holešovice. In the immediate area ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Bubeneč Bubeneč is a district in the north-west of Prague. 52% of the district is in Prague 7, but most of the built-up area is in Prague 6. Sparta Prague football club and their stadium Generali Arena is situated at the south-eastern edge of Bubeneč, ...

, nearby

Holešovice Holešovice () is a district in the north of Prague situated on a meander of the River Vltava, which makes up the main part of the district Prague 7 (an insignificant part belongs to Prague 1). In the past it was a heavily industrial suburb; ...

. It was one of the few grounds in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

that permanently hosted amusement attractions like roller coaster and

ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...

, however, since 2018, those two permanent attractions were removed and are present only during the funfairs seasons. The park host funfairs in spring and autumn seasons.

Fairs

St. Matthew's Fair ''(Matějská pouť)'' is usually held from end of February to April and Wenceslas Autumn Fair ''(Václavská podzimní pouť)'' from September to October.St Matthew's Fair
/ref> The Matthew's fair is the most popular and biggest

funfair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

in Czech Republic and host attractions like the Hammer Booster which is 60 meters high and is the highest in Europe and other around 130 attractions. Amusement park is closed from the beginning of November to the end of February.

History

St. Matthew's Fair (Matějská pouť) has very old tradition, which dates back to 1595, originally as the pilgrimage of

Saint Matthew Matthew the Apostle,, shortened to ''Matti'' (whence ar, مَتَّى, Mattā), meaning "Gift of YHWH"; arc, , Mattai; grc-koi, Μαθθαῖος, ''Maththaîos'' or , ''Matthaîos''; cop, ⲙⲁⲧⲑⲉⲟⲥ, Mattheos; la, Matthaeus a ...

to the Church of St. Matthew in

Dejvice Dejvice is a historical community, a municipal quarter of the Prague 6 district of Prague, Czech Republic. Its history can be traced back to the late Roman era. Dejvice is known for its appeal to the upper middle class, foreign diplomatic corps ...

(history of the church dates to the 10th century). Since then, the tradition of the Matthew's pilgrimages has been developed. The pilgrimage route started near the current Hradčanská metro station of

and led to the Chapel of St.

John of Nepomuk John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) ( cs, Jan Nepomucký; german: Johannes Nepomuk; la, Ioannes Nepomucenus) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393) was the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus ...

, where a parish fair took place. The parish fair gradually moved to the lower sections of the pilgrimage, especially to today's Victory Square (Vítězné náměstí) in Dejvice. During the

First Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic ( cs, První československá republika, sk, Prvá česko-slovenská republika), often colloquially referred to as the First Republic ( cs, První republika, Slovak: ''Prvá republika''), was the first Czechoslo ...

, approximately a quarter of a million people participated in this pilgrimage. However, the development of Dejvice forced this fair to move from this place in the 1960s. After several places (

Letná Letná is a hill overlooking Prague historic centre and Vltava River just besides Prague Castle. It neighbours Stromovka, the largest park in Prague. The hill belongs to Holešovice and Bubeneč quarters of Prague 7 Prague 7 is a municipal d ...

, Modřany,

Břevnov Břevnov () is a district in the west of Prague, located in Prague 6. The district is home to the Břevnov Monastery (Czech: ''Břevnovský klášter''). On the territory of Břevnov stems Brusnice brook. Břevnov was first mentioned in the 10th ...

) the fair permanently moved to

in Bubeneč (nearby Dejvice). Secularization of Czech society caused the religious origins of the fairs to be largely forgotten. In the 1990s, the number of St. Matthew's Fair visitors approached one million. The fairground is now run by the Incheba company, the fair by Kočka company, both owned by Kočka family.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Amusement park at the Prague Fairground
Official Matthias fair pagePlanetarium HomepageSea World Aquarium
* Industrial Palace Amusement parks in the Czech Republic Buildings and structures in Prague Tourist attractions in Prague Prague 7