Prague Museum Opens Rowing Simulator

Ride the rapids this summer… from the comfort of The City of Prague Museum’s Podskalí Custom House at Výtoň

Dave Park

Written by Dave Park Published on 07.07.2016 15:55:51 (updated on 07.07.2016) Reading time: 1 minute

One of the most revered summer customs in the Czech Republic is taking it to the waters in a kayak, canoe, or raft, and enjoying a relaxing ride down the country’s many rivers.

But perhaps you’re not as well-versed in the wilds of the Czech waterways as you should be before heading out. Or maybe you could just use some more practice.

To get your technique down this summer, you might want to first take a trip to The City of Prague Museum’s Podskalí Custom House at Výtoň (Podskalská celnice na Výtoni).

A new exhibit at the Museum called “Vanished Podskalí – rafts and boats on the Vltava” features historical pictures and information about the lives of raftsmen, traders, miners, and others who called the Vltava riverbank home. 

But the exhibit also features one unique interactive display: a rowing simulator that consists of an oar attached to a wooden stand, connected to a TV display.

Here, visitors can try their skills from the safety of the Museum’s walls via a simulation of the Vltava’s rapids and currents.

The simulation is not only for fun: from July 1st through the end of August, the Museum is holding a competition to see who can safely navigate the entire course through the Svatojanské currents. The first five winners will receive a book on the same topic as the exhibition.

Photos from the exhibition courtesy The City of Prague Museum:

Customs House at Výtoň and U Koppů Inn around 1910 (photo by J. Kříženecký)
Customs House at Výtoň and U Koppů Inn around 1910 (photo by J. Kříženecký)

Podskalí locals take a rest on the logs, c. 1905
Podskalí locals take a rest on the logs, c. 1905

Floating through a sluice in Letošice (photo by J. Lima, 1955-60)
Floating through a sluice in Letošice (photo by J. Lima, 1955-60)

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