Photo: At that time in Vršovice. The ancient quarter is famous for its Art Nouveau apartment buildings and football
Vršovice is one of the oldest parts of Prague. The first mention is almost a thousand years old. They experienced the greatest development after the demolition of the walls in the 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was one of the largest cities swallowed up 100 years ago by the newly formed metropolis – Greater Prague. Thanks to the magnificent Art Nouveau buildings, two top football clubs and the unique housing estate Vlasta, they remain a unique place even today.
The area of Prague’s Vršovice has been permanently inhabited since the time when the first princes settled in nearby Vyšehrad. The oldest surviving name of the village from 1088 comes from the founding letter of the Vyšehrad Chapter, to which the settlement belonged.
However, the very origin of the name of the former settlement is still unclear. Because Vršovice lies in the valley of the Botič stream, it is unlikely that its people would derive from the word hill. At one time, the name was thought to come from the word vrš, which refers to a basket intended for catching fish. This version eventually prevailed over others and this fishing tackle can also be found in the emblem of Vršovice. However, according to linguists, it is unlikely.
Series: Prague 100 years of the metropolis
The editors of Aktuálně.cz prepared for 100th anniversary of the so-called Greater Prague a series about city districts that were independent cities before 1922. See what Vršovice, Žižkov, Smíchov or Strašnice looked like on historical photographs.
There is also speculation that the name Vršovice was derived from a proper name. This is either from the Vršovci family or a man named Vrš, who, according to Hájek’s chronicle, lived in the locality in the eighth century.
During the Middle Ages, the village was associated mainly with fishing and also with vineyards. The oldest preserved building in this district is the Church of St. Nicholas standing on Vršovice Square. A chapel stood in its place since 1000, in the middle of the 14th century the place was dominated by a Gothic church. It has had its current Baroque appearance since the 17th century.
Even in 1840, Vršovice was only a small village with 900 inhabitants. However, the demolition of the city walls in the 1970s is one of their dynamic developments. The rapid construction of new houses has brought water supply, lighting and railway stations. In 1900, Vršovice already had over 13,000 inhabitants and two years later it was declared a town. Even before the outbreak of World War I, the characteristic magnificent Art Nouveau tenements grew up here today.
Part of Greater Prague
In 1922, Vršovice became part of the newly formed metropolis – Greater Prague. This is despite the fact that the local town hall initially resisted the connection to the capital, mainly due to fears of higher taxes and loss of power. Vršovice already had over 33 inhabitants, which corresponds to the current Znojmo or Tábor, which start the fourth ten of the largest cities in the Czech Republic.
Vršovice differs from other districts, among other things, in the fact that there is usually a lack of First Republic buildings. Art Nouveau apartment buildings, which can be found especially on the border of neighboring Vinohrady in the northwestern part at Kodaňská or Ruská streets, are almost directly connected to buildings from the socialist period in the east.
The blocks of flats later grew up in places that during the First Republic were largely occupied by the Eden amusement and sports park. The extensive complex was built here after the founding of Greater Prague and was to become the Prague-era of the Vienna Prater. In the 1920s, it was a popular place for the popular class, which attracted many unusual attractions at the time. For example, a five-kilometer-long roller coaster, a lagoon with boats and an enchanted castle or dance halls and restaurants.
However, due to the economic crisis in the early 1930s, the amusement park fell and the place gained a bad reputation due to rising crime. Poor colonies were established nearby, for example in Bohdalec. The end of the once famous complex is approaching. In 1935, the city had the roller coaster demolished. However, this decline was at the birth of another glorious era. In the fifties, a stadium was built on the site and the football Slavia moved to Vršovice. After the Bohemians, who have been playing in nearby Ďolíček since the 1930s, it has thus become the second leading Czech club based in Vršovice.
Vršovice experienced another significant development in the 1970s, when the Vlasta housing estate grew up in the area near the world-famous Koh-i-noor factory near Vršovická Street. By the way: the then communist regime moved here about 3.5 thousand people from Milovice, Central Bohemia, where Soviet soldiers and their family moved to Czechoslovakia after the Warsaw Pact invasion. Today, the housing estate is one of the most architecturally valuable in Prague – for example, thanks to outdoor works of art.
Today, Vršovice has over 35,000 inhabitants and falls under the city district of Prague 10. In recent decades, they have become a popular neighborhood, especially for younger people, for example due to the independent culture around the development of Krymská Street.