Dominant of Prague, which is one of the ugliest buildings in the world. A unique transmitter buried Jewish monuments
In addition to being one of the most controversial and discussed buildings in the capital, it is also the tallest building in Prague with its 216 meters. The construction of the Žižkov transmitter began during the previous regime. As is a good habit in the Czech Republic, the citizens approached it with humor.
Jakeš’s finger satirically referred to the then General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, and the nickname Biľak’s Needle again came across the fact that Vasil Biľak, a member of the Board of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, was originally a trained tailor. Apart from political allusions, however, people could not forgive themselves for neglecting its cosmic appearance. Names like Rocket or Baikonur simply hung in the air. However, it is not only the appearance of the building that is controversial, but also the circumstances under which the Žižkov transmitter was created.
Jewish cemetery in ruins
With its monuments, Prague is one of the best-preserved places in the world, where we can literally walk through the history of the Jewish community. Synagogues, cemeteries and many landmarks have lost one more unique thing. The old Jewish cemetery in Žižkov was basically completely destroyed and it took years before it defended at least today’s modest appearance, as can be seen in Mahlerovy sady, where this monumental building rises above the tombstones.
The reason for the construction was clean. Since 1974, there has been a need to build a new powerful radio and television transmitter. First, it was planned to build a new 160-meter transmitter on Petřín, where a temporary device was installed on the lookout tower until then. Thanks to the intervention and criticism of the conservationists, this idea was stopped. From this point of view, it was undoubtedly saved from the complete destruction of the panorama of the very center of Prague.
Thus, the location of the then devastated Mahler Gardens was chosen, where the new building essentially trampled on unique Jewish monuments.
The tallest building in Prague
The basic parameter that defined the incredibly monumental building was the fact that the perfect signal will be propagated only at a height of 200 meters above the surface. Architect Václav Aulický set to work and submitted more than 20 proposals on how to solve a similarly complex assignment. Most of them kept “down to earth”. These were minimalist technical buildings that did not attract more attention than the heights.
As can be seen, however, the unique futuristic design, which at first glance resembles a launching rocket, won. The cornerstone of this huge building and the new landmark of Prague was laid in 1985 and the course of implementation did not proceed as fast as the regime would have imagined. The presence of Jewish monuments also extended the duration of the construction, because here the Jewish community had supervision over the found tombstones in the underground, which were moved to the New Jewish Cemetery in Olšany.
In practice, however, these valuable monuments were a devastating way. So at least six years passed before the test transmitter started. Until then, there were critical voices calling for the demolition of the Žižkov transmitter. As can be seen, nothing like that succeeded and officially began broadcasting in 1992. This opened a restaurant and a viewpoint for the public.
The ugliest building in the world?
The Žižkov transmitter regularly appears on the world’s most respected websites among the ten ugliest buildings ever. He even finished second worst. Although there is no doubt that we will not find anything similar in the world from an aesthetic point of view, this judgment is somewhat cruel.
It is difficult to judge from the point of view of a person who is used to looking at this incredible building all his life, but in an attempt at insight and objective criticism, the Žižkov transmitter is one of the most interesting buildings in the world. Her futuristic style can be seen from almost every place in Prague and today she plays an irreplaceable role in Czech architecture. David Černý’s babies and backlights in national colors, when looking at the night panorama of the capital, thus gains an undeniably unmissable work, which also offers incredible views far beyond the city limits.
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