Municipal House: The Communists wanted to demolish it. The high costs of demolition have discouraged them
/ PHOTO GALLERY / Despite its relatively young age, the Municipal House is one of the most valuable monuments in Prague. Thanks to its beauty and history – this is where the republic was proclaimed in 1918. Several famous Prague companies are hiding in its bowels.
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Municipal house, postcard, before 1930.
| Photo: Courtesy of the Museum of the City of Prague
The building with Art Nouveau elements was opened to the public on January 5, 1912. At that time, the crowds of Praguers stared in amazement at the massive facade with a mosaic and a semicircular balcony, the marble staircase and the magnificent chandeliers. Architects Antonín Balšánek and Osvald Polívka could not have wished for a better position for their work. The large area of Republic Square really made it stand out.
Decoration by famous artists
The location of the Municipal House is valuable and symbolic. Towards the end of the 14th century, King Wenceslas IV built his seat in its place. and after him his successors lived here until Vladislav Jagiellonsky. The Royal Palace, which included gardens, a spa and a small zoo, then served the church and the army, but gradually fell into disrepair until the representatives of the Prague community decided to definitively level it to the ground.
The building that replaced it was to serve as a purely Czech representative building. The Czechs wanted to demarcate from the nearby German House and Na příkopě Street, which at that time was primarily German territory.
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The decoration features the greatest artists of the time: Mikoláš Aleš, František Ženíšek, Josef Václav Myslbek, Alfons Mucha and Max Švabinský. The whole house was heated by radiators, visitors were taken by elevators and was one of the first in Prague to be completely electrified. Not surprisingly, spending has climbed to an astronomical six million crowns. Yet not everyone approved of him. He reaped criticism, especially from young artists, that he was stylistically outdated and overpaid.
Demolition was too expensive
The city opted for different parts of the house, which saved it financially during both world wars. At the very beginning of the term, several companies.
the ground floor found its place in a café and a French restaurant run by the renowned restaurateur Vašata. In the basement there is a more popular Pilsen restaurant with an American bar and wine bar. All of the refrigerators available were available and they also had an ice factory.
Businesses have become a popular meeting place for cream, but the café has always enjoyed the greatest popularity. To this day, we can see part of the original equipment, Křižík’s chandeliers, tiles and fountains with a relief of a nymph. Only a few pieces of furniture have survived, and while the original chairs are now stored in depositories, some original tables still serve visitors.
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The communist elites wanted to have the “too bourgeois” Representative House, as it was then called, demolished. Fortunately, something like this turned out to be too expensive. At least they renamed it “Representative” to “Municipal.”
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