Novotného lávka, Footbridge and street in Old Town, Czech Republic
Novotného lávka is a footbridge and a riverside street in Prague's Old Town, running along the Vltava River and linking the riverbank to the historic center. Along the waterfront side, a row of cafes, restaurants and small shops lines the route.
Mills stood on this site from 1396, and a wooden water tower was built around 1489 to supply the Old Town with water. The iron footbridge was built in 1887 by a miller named Karel Novotný, whose name the structure still carries today.
At the foot of the footbridge stands a former waterworks building that now houses the Smetana Museum, dedicated to the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. Inside, visitors can see instruments, manuscripts and personal objects from his life.
The footbridge sits just a short walk from Charles Bridge and is easy to reach on foot from the Old Town Square. The riverside path here connects naturally to longer walks along the Vltava, making it a good starting point for exploring the waterfront.
The stone foundations of the old mills are still visible beneath the footbridge at low water, showing how this stretch of the Vltava was once shaped by industry. The water was channeled through narrow millraces here for centuries before the iron structure replaced them.
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