Prague Opens Cooling Stations as Heatwave Hits, Square Revamp Advances

Prague opened 14 public cooling stations across the city on Tuesday as temperatures climbed past 36°C, with the Prague 1 and Prague 2 municipal offices joining the National Museum and the Palmovka cultural centre among the designated relief points. The move came after the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute issued a second-tier heat warning for the entire Central Bohemian region — the highest alert level the institute has recorded for Prague so far this summer.

The timing matters. France buried more than 2,000 people in a single peak week of excess heat deaths this summer, and city hall is under pressure not to repeat the failures seen in other European capitals where emergency infrastructure lagged behind forecasts. Prague's public health department said it has pre-positioned mobile water distribution units at Letná Park, Stromovka, and the Vltava riverbank stretches near Císařský ostrov, expecting weekend foot traffic to spike as families flee apartments with no air conditioning.

Wenceslas Square Redesign Gets Green Light from Heritage Board

The bigger political story this week was the decision by the National Heritage Institute — Národní památkový ústav — to conditionally approve the long-stalled redesign of Wenceslas Square. The plan, developed by the Prague Institute of Planning and Development, would remove two lanes of through-traffic from the upper section of the square between Vodičkova Street and Muzeum metro station and replace them with expanded pedestrian zones and tree planting. The institute attached 11 conditions related to pavement materials and the preservation of underground archaeological layers, but the approval is the furthest the project has advanced since the first public consultation in 2021.

Critics, including several businesses along the square's western colonnade, argue the traffic rerouting will strangle deliveries and drive customers toward Palladium shopping centre in náměstí Republiky. Supporters counter that the square's current configuration — heavy with cars, light on greenery — makes it nearly unusable on days like this week. Prague's Transport Authority estimates that 18,000 vehicles currently pass through the square on an average weekday, a figure the redesign aims to cut by roughly 70 percent in the affected section.

Construction, if funding is confirmed in the autumn budget round, would not start before the second quarter of 2027. The total project cost is projected at 1.4 billion Czech crowns, according to the Prague Institute of Planning and Development's latest estimate.

Metro D Boring Ahead of Schedule, But Costs Climb

Underground, there was mixed news on the Metro D line. The tunnel boring machine working the Pankrác–Olbrachtova section hit its monthly progress target three weeks early, according to Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy — the city's transit operator. That stretch, running beneath the residential blocks of Krč, has been one of the trickier sections due to groundwater intrusion recorded last autumn.

The good news on timing, however, is offset by a revised cost projection. DPP confirmed this week that overall Metro D construction costs have risen to approximately 47 billion crowns, up from the 40 billion figure cited in the 2023 parliamentary approval. The operator attributed the increase to steel and concrete price inflation since 2022 and scope changes at the Náměstí Míru interchange station, where a connection to the existing line A required deeper foundations than originally modelled.

The first phase, linking Pankrác to a new terminus at Depo Písnice in Prague 12, remains on track for a 2029 opening, DPP said. Residents along Budějovická and Kačerov should expect intensified surface works around both stations through September as utility relocation continues.

For practical purposes: anyone travelling through the Pankrác plateau this weekend should allow extra time — road closures around 5. května avenue are in effect Saturday and Sunday for a planned concrete pour. The city's 222 bus line is running supplementary services. And if the heat holds, the cooling stations at Palmovka and the Holešovice market hall are open daily until 20:00 through at least July 13.

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