Podskalská celnice na Výtoni

Podskalská celnice na Výtoni (the Podskalí Customs House at Výtoň) is one of the last surviving witnesses to Prague's old timber-rafting settlement of Podskalí, standing on the bank of the Vltava in the city's New Town district. This modest two-storey late-Gothic building went up around 1500 and for centuries served as a toll station collecting fees on timber rafted down the river to Prague's wood markets.

Where did the customs house come from?

The settlement of Podskalí existed as far back as the late 12th century, and its inhabitants gradually secured a monopoly on the timber trade floated down the Vltava into Prague. Rafts arriving from upstream had to pass through the customs point right here at Výtoň, a spot where the riverbank made it easy to haul the logs safely ashore. In the Middle Ages the building belonged to the Vyšehrad chapter before passing into the ownership of Prague's New Town. In 1671 the coat of arms of Prague's New Town was mounted above the entrance portal, and it still sits there today.

What is there to see?

The building has kept its original, unassuming character: thick walls, a distinctive late-Gothic entrance portal, and proportions typical of Prague's functional architecture from the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. Together with the nearby, Baroque-remodelled Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian, it is the only surviving reminder of the old fishing and rafting settlement of Podskalí, which vanished from the city map in the 20th century when the Vltava embankments were regulated. Inside, the Prague City Museum runs a small exhibition dedicated to the history of Podskalí and the tradition of timber rafting and river transport on the Vltava, with rafting tools, photographs, and mementos of the lost neighbourhood on display.

How to get there?

The customs house stands right by Rašínovo nábřeží, close to the Výtoň tram stop and the Výtoň metro station on line C, making it an easy stop from central Prague — a walk of just a few minutes from the New Town or Vyšehrad. It works well as a waypoint on a riverside walk connecting the New Town with Vyšehrad.

A short history

In 1908 the city of Prague bought the building to preserve it as a memorial to the vanished life of Podskalí. In 1939 it passed into the ownership of the Prague City Museum, which opened its first post-war historical exhibition here shortly after World War II. Ever since, the customs house has served as a small museum branch devoted entirely to the history of this unique, now-vanished district of rafters and fishermen.

Frequently asked questions

What was the Podskalská celnice? A former customs point that collected fees on timber rafted down the Vltava to Prague, in operation from around 1500.

Can you visit the inside? Yes, the building houses a branch of the Prague City Museum with an exhibition on the history of Podskalí and Vltava rafting.

How do you get there? Easiest by metro (line C, Výtoň station) or by tram along Rašínovo nábřeží.

Why does this building matter? It is one of only two surviving structures from the former Podskalí settlement, a witness to Prague's vanished rafting trade.