Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, is located in the center of the European continent, on the banks of the Vltava River, full of romantic, mysterious, historical and cultural atmosphere. In people’s minds, Prague is a city with many bridges, of which the Charles Bridge is the most famous. It connects the old town, the small town and the castle of Prague, and connects various buildings on the river bank in one place, which is printed on Prague’s stamps. Among the buildings not far from the Charles Bridge, there is a unique Venana Lane, which is known as “the narrowest and smallest street in Europe”.
One end of the Venana Lane starts at the Franz Kafka Museum, and the other end ends at the river. It is not so much a path as it is a gap between two buildings. It is extremely narrow but not deep, with a width of about 70 centimeters. It can only accommodate one person to pass alone, and its length is less than ten meters. If you take a closer look inside, you will find that the walls on both sides have cracked a few inconspicuous lines after years of erosion, and some walls have faded and peeled off. Light leaked from overhead, only dimly illuminating the path and a small wall underfoot.
Why does such a cramped, dilapidated and dark path survive to this day? Many tourists, and even locals, have been skeptical about the significance of the Vinana Lane.
In fact, the birth of this path can be traced back to the Middle Ages. At that time, most buildings in the central area of Prague used row-style wooden houses. This structure is light and comfortable, and can also be anti-corrosion. The disadvantage is that it is easy to catch fire. Once an accidental fire destroyed half of the city of Prague. Therefore, in order to avoid the recurrence of large-scale fires, the Czech government tried to choose locations close to the river when planning urban buildings, and then designed some channels for fire water transportation and escape. The Venana Lane was an unnamed passage at that time, which was part of the surrounding buildings.
Later, with the changes of the times, some houses and fire exits were too old and were replaced one by one. However, an old lady named Wei Nana refused to sell the house on the grounds of private land, so she also kept the passage near the house. . After the death of the old lady, the Czech government complied with its wishes, named the laneway after her, and preserved it as a “historical monument” to this day. The Venana Lane, named after the “nail house”, has now become a part of Prague’s history.
In fact, urban planning in the Czech Republic is generally based on the pattern of the old city, rather than rebuilding it. Some of these old streets and alleys, like the “capillaries” of the city, can relieve traffic pressure to a certain extent, and the Venana alleyway also has a similar “function”. Not only the inside of the roadway, but also the distance between the two sides is very narrow. If many people enter at the same time, congestion often occurs. In order to alleviate congestion, the government had to set up manual traffic lights at street entrances and exits. When someone is passing by, press the pass button at one end of the lane, and the traffic light sign will light up red. When the pedestrians on the opposite side see the red light, they will know that there are people in the lane and need to wait for a while. However, even with traffic lights, some “heavyweight” people will still be stuck in the alley and unable to move. It is rumored that a Japanese wrestler bet with his friends to enter the passage and was trapped in it for three hours. The government once again set up a sign at the intersection to remind people above the “heavyweight” that they are prohibited from passing.
