Rudolf's adit

Plan of Rudolf'adit

The plan of Rudolf's adit (inventory number 1848) depicts a side view of the water construction built in 1583-1593 in Prague during the reign of the Emperor Rudolf II. The works were performed by Lazarus Ercker, the Lord Steward of the Kingdom of Bohemia. The adit connected the king's reserve with the Vltava river and supplied water to a pond and various attractions. The plan is painted in colours on a parchment scroll 248 cm long and 20 cm wide. The painting depicts both the technical part of the work, including sinking and ventilation shafts, and provides a painter's view of the landscape and surface growths. The scale gives not only length in the units Estados de mina but it also contains dates that can serve for a precise tracing of the time progress of the adit construction. Small statures of miners with contemporary tools are also scale-depicted in the plan. Individual inscriptions in Spanish are framed into manneristic ornaments. This is the oldest preserved plan of a water work in the Czech lands. Its author is Isaac Phendler, junior draftsman of the Czech Court Chamber. The adit itself has been preserved till the present time, it is maintained and accessible with a special guide. Its length is 1102 m, its height ranges between 2 and 4 m, its width between 1.2 and 2.5 m. The Rudolf's adit is a unique mining monument in Prague.