Historical annals have been mentioned in the picturesque village of Břevnov, not far from the borders of Prague, since the 10th century. It was certainly here before the founding of the Břevnov Monastery in 993. The village is mentioned in the founding documents of the mentioned monastery, which got its name from the village of Břevnov.

“In her (founding document, note. Red.) is already mentioned before the founding of the monastery in the village of Břevnov, on which southern side it is located mountain, along which the road to Prague from western Bohemia then led. On the northern side of the village there was a valley and in it the villages of Veleslavín and Liboc. The founding of the Benedictine Monastery near Břevnov undoubtedly contributed even more to the education of this landscape, “describes the historian and archivist Václav Vladivoj Tomek in the book History of the City of Prague.

Břevnov “by mistake” the city

From the description we can observe that Břevnov was separated from the capital itself and mainly due to the terrain. Nevertheless, the settlement succeeded and the population grew. Around the 19th century, the small village outside Prague slowly became a Prague suburb. Townhouses were built here and the population continued to live. Around 1907, over 9,000 people lived here. This year, Břevnov also visited Emperor Francis Joseph I, who accidentally promoted the village of Břevnov to a town.

Old Břevnov had to give way to a housing estate for communist celebrities. People still call him Baton

Author: Prague 6

“The emperor was satisfied with his visit to Břevnov and wanted to thank the people. However, because, as is well known, he did not speak much Czech, he was wrong and mistakenly said that he thanked him for the beautiful reception in the town of Břevnov.. The situation was promptly exploited by the then mayor and he immediately replied that he thanked his imperial grace for upgrading the village of Břevnov to a town. Nothing could be done, what was said, could not be taken back – the representatives of the village, referring to the emperor, asked for a decree confirming promotion to the city and the authorities had to issue it, “describes Petr Ryska in the book Unknown.

However, Břevnov did not remain an independent town for a long time; from January 1, 1922, it was annexed to the capital. “But Břevnov still had its village character. In the middle was a rectangular village square, the original Baroque homesteads were concentrated around the village square. One of them, used with the descriptive number eight, was even listed, “Pavel Krchov, a chronicler of Prague 6, told Blesk.

Obušek housing estate

However, even the listed buildings did not prevent the communist regime from completely aligning the historic core of the village with the lands and block of flats built there. “It is almost unbelievable that there can be a panel housing estate between the Břevnov Monastery and Prague Castle. It was built here in the 1970s by the communist regime for employees of the Ministry of the Interior, ie for members of the SNB and STB. For this reason, the housing estate was renamed by the public as Obušek or Na Pendreku. The Czechs have always tried to fight the oppression with humor”Explains Zdeněk Lukeš, a historian of architecture.

And as if the communist past foreshadowed the present. The KSČM has generally been successful in the elections for many years. In 2013, the party won the parliamentary elections here with 32%. Four years later, she finished second to the winning YES. In general, Prague 6 has long been paying for bastion of right-wing parties. But back to architecture.

The only advantage of the mentioned housing estate is that it is built well. “It is said that it was built by prisoners, but because it was for the celebrities, it is crafted to a very high leveli. Compared to the South City, for example, it wins on the whole line, “adds Lukeš. As a memento of old Břevnov, only the chapel of St. Florian with the bell tower, old Břevnov disappeared without a stop under the excavators of communist bulldozers.