At that time in Smíchov. Pictures of the neighborhood, which has become a core of the resort
The Prague district of Smíchov is known for its industrial and workers’ past. The first manufactory in the Czech Republic, the famous Staropramen brewery and the largest machinery company in Austria-Hungary were located here. Originally, it was a popular recreational place for Prague aristocratic families full of stately villas and farmsteads. 100 years ago, Smíchov became part of the newly created metropolis – Greater Prague.
Smíchov has been inhabited by a thousand people since the Late Stone Age, ie for about seven years. Written sources mention life in this area since the 13th century. The Zbraslav Chronicle mentions a wooden palace lying on a “flat and beautiful” plain between Petřín and the Vltava River, where a feast was held in 1297 after the coronation of Wenceslas II.
However, the name of the Smíchov district first appears at the beginning of the 15th century. There have been disputes about its origin in the past, but the most likely variant is that its then form Smiechow came from the name Smiech and therefore meant. Smíchův courtyard. In any case, the rumor tells that the name is related to the story of Šemík and Horymír, who was supposed to laugh during his jump from Vyšehrad lying on the other side of the river. According to another theory, the people derived the name from the fact that the local settlement “mixed” from different strata.
Previously, there were two villages on this left bank of the Vltava, which were separated by the Motol brook. In addition to Smíchov, there is also Újezd, in the center of which – in the place of today’s Arbesova náměstí – the church of St. Jacob. A Carthusian monastery was established near the church in 1342, and its lands stretched to today’s square on 14 October. The monks established fields, vineyards and hop gardens here. Watermills stood on the river bank near the complex.
The era of this monastery did not last long. At the beginning of the Hussite wars in 1419, it was looted and the property came into the possession of the citizens of Prague. This is one of the reasons why in the early modern period the northern part of Smíchov became a popular recreational area of Prague aristocratic families. They built farmsteads and summer houses here.
However, the proximity of Prague’s cities did not only bring with it wealth and development. Smíchov suffered significant wounds during several sieges and conquests of the city during the Thirty Years’ War. The local vineyards and gardens were also destroyed during the Seven Years’ War by the Prussian army, which shelled Prague from here. According to the cadastre, at the beginning of the second half of the 18th century, only eight farmers worked in the area.
Mozart, beer and machines
But Smíchov recovered quickly from numerous wars. The nobles rebuilt the farmsteads into lavish villas surrounded by vast gardens and parks, which became important centers of cultural and social life. This was the case with the Bertramka homestead. The opera singer Josefína Dušková and her husband, the composer František Xaver Dušek, have lived here since 1784. He was visited twice by the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
At the same time, a crucial period for the future of Smíchov connected with the development of local industry is also beginning. Sources as early as 1750 speak of probably the first manufactory in Prague – a leather processing plant in the Jan z Westerhold complex.
In the first half of the 19th century, the food, textile and chemical industries developed. Homesteads and summer houses are being rebuilt by the townspeople into factory operations, blocks of multi-storey houses, city buildings and emergency housing for workers are being built here. In 1852, a factory for machines and wagons of František Ringhoffer, later the mayor of Smíchov and a provincial deputy, was built between today’s Plzeňská, Štefánikova and Kartouzská streets.
Ringhoffer’s plants became the largest machinery company in Austria-Hungary. In 1869, Smíchov acquired another company inextricably linked with its history – the Shareholder Brewery, later Staropramen.
The previously difficult transport accessibility of Smíchov has also improved significantly. In 1862, the local railway station opened and sixteen years later also Palacký Bridge. The Anděl crossroads, named after a fresco on one of the houses, became an important place. At the turn of the century, the village acquired the first trams, a source of drinking water and Art Nouveau buildings in the central part.
The growth of Smíchov during the second half of the 19th century is also evidenced by the increase in population. While in 1869 there were over 15,000 people, twenty years later it was 32,646, more than double. In 1903, Smíchov was promoted to a town. After Prague, Pilsen, Žižkov and Vinohrady, it was the fifth largest in the country in terms of population.
A rebellious working-class neighborhood
In 1922, Smíchov became part of Greater Prague, the newly formed metropolis of Czechoslovakia. Because it was located close to the center, many important offices were established there, including several ministries. In 1930, Smíchov already had almost 62,000 inhabitants. Despite the fact that a magnificent residential area was built on the slope of Strahov Hill, Smíchov continued to pay for the industrial center of Prague and the workers’ movement grew stronger – this is where the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia had the so-called merger congress in 1921.
However, when the Communists came to power after World War II, they planned drastic changes in “their” neighborhood. According to the zoning plan from the mid-1950s, they wanted to make Smíchov a modern building city. Its western part was to be demolished and replaced by standardized housing development. That didn’t happen in the end. The construction development of the district slowed down under socialism, but the creation of several key transport structures was crucial. For example, the Strahov tunnel or two metro stations – Anděl and Smíchovské nádraží.
Even before 1989, there was a gradual decline in industry in this part of Prague, a trend that accelerated in the 1990s. The only company that still operates here is the Staropramen brewery. The most famous ČKD Tatra, which followed on from Ringhoffer’s plants, ceased production in 1990 and its premises were demolished eight years later. Today, office buildings or shopping centers stand on the site of the former factories.