In the poll for the best pub in Prague 1, Hostinec U Černého vola won
It was as if time had stopped in the Hradčany company on Loretánské Square. Inside, you will be greeted by long scuffed oak tables with benches. Old classic tiles lie on the ground and wooden ceilings extend above the head. Kozel has been spinning on the tap since the pre-November period, and Pilsner Urquell lager has been added. From its profits, the pub supports the Jaroslav Ježek School for the Visually Impaired. Commissioner Ledvina and Nick Carter also “deleted” in the bar, characters from the movie “Adéla hasn’t eaten yet”.
In the past, visitors were dominated by local regulars. Today, the composition of guests is much more varied. Also because many of them moved out. “Not only people from the area come here, but also diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, journalists or artists, “ says one of the regulars from the table. The simple historic interior is stained by an old “socialist” bar. An ideal place for an evening with friends.
Dissent and pub
The pub opened in its current form in 1965. The place also played an important role in the events before the Velvet Revolution. Kula here “anti-state activity”. Former secretary Václav Havel, music publicist Vladimír Hanzel remembers how here he handed over his texts to the editor of the samizdat Lidové noviny, Rudolf Zeman. “Paradoxically, the Communists were most bothered by conversations with artists from the semi-official world, such as Michael Kocáb. The regime did not like the connection of dissent with the gray zone, “says Hanzel.
The writer, political prisoner and dissident Karel Pecka is probably most connected with the U Černého vola pub. “He had his comfortable ’round trip’, he never went uphill. He lived upstairs in Nerudova Street. He first stood in the U Kocoura pub down in Nerudovka, then took the ‘Malostranské náměstí’ lift from Malostranské náměstí, or tram number 22 to Pohořelec. From there he went around the National Literature Memorial to Vol, where you gave twelve Goats. He had a short time home and went down again, “recalls Vladimír Hanzel.
Post-revolutionary drama
After the Velvet Revolution, the cellar threatened to disappear, because the house on Loretánské náměstí was to go into a small privatization. However, local regulars, led by Karel Pecká, saved the pub with the proviso that its profits will be used for the needs of the neighboring school of Jaroslav Ježek for the blind. For the second time, the pub was threatened with extinction in 2011, when Bohumil Landergot, a long-time operating and tapping company, retired. Again, however, the association for the rescue of the cellar was in charge, and Landergot’s pupil Martin Benda became its new tenant.
Deeper into history
The first mention of the house dates from 1574. It was rebuilt to its current size in 1629 by the administrator of the Imperial Office. Later, a richly decorated facade was made and it was created inside the taverns. In the middle of the house there is a relief with St. Luke (patron saint of doctors and artists) and the Virgin Mary. That is why in the past the house was called U svatého Lukáše. The sign U Černého orla also circulated among the people. The name U Černého vola was probably created by a distortion sometime in the last century.
Situation in front of the pub Jan Dařílek
The picturesque exterior of the pub seems to have fallen out of a historical film
Author: Jan Dařílek