Praguer as a log – the fourth and last quiz about Prague 10
photo: Petr Kouba, PrahaIN.cz/Trmal’s villa once stood on the very edge of Prague
This address is often understood rather derogatorily, but let’s make it a priority at PrahaIN.cz. A true Pražák knows his forest like a log, where it grows and literally knows something about every tree stump he stumbles upon. So can you also boldly declare that you are a Praguer like a log?
So let’s test your knowledge of the metropolis. This time about the administrative part Prague 10. This is the cadastral territory of Vršovice, almost all of Strašnice and Malešice, more than half of Záběhlice, roughly a quarter of Michle and small parts of Vinohrad and Hrdlořez. The administrative part Prague 10 covers an area of approximately 19 km2, which is less than 4 percent of the total area of the metropolis. However, 115,000 people live here, which is 9 percent of the total population of the capital.
We have prepared ten questions for you, which will confirm your right to boast the title of Praguer as a log. Have you gathered enough courage? Try to find the answers to the following questions. Let the fact that the test concerns the tenth administrative city district be a small hint.
Questions:
1. Do you know why the sculptor Ladislav Šaloun bought a villa in today’s Vinohrady district of Prague 10?
2. Do you know which famous architect has a museum in Trmal’s villa?
3. Do you know in which villa the idea for the creation of the Orion chocolate factory originated?
4. Do you know which building the rebels broadcast from in May 1945, when the Czechoslovak Radio building in Vinohrady was occupied?
5. Do you know which pre-stressed concrete was used as the building material for the first Czechoslovak church building?
6. Do you know which famous architect lived in this villa?
Do you know which famous architect lived in this villa?
7. Do you know the name of the part of Šaloun’s villa (Slovenská 2499/4) when famous guests used to gather at the house’s owner’s house and hold big séances here?
8. Do you know which other famous architect chose this villa in Prague 10 as their home?
Do you know which other famous architect chose this villa in Prague 10 as their home?
9. Do you know the name of the association of distinguished guests who met at the house of the Čapk brothers every Friday?
10. Do you know where we can find the last commemorative stop in Prague 10 original trolleybus ride in the metropolis?
Shalouna’s villa
Correct answers:
1. Do you know why the sculptor Ladislav Šaloun bought a villa in today’s Vinohrady district of Prague 10?
Because of the big studio. After the famous sculptor won the competition for the monument to Master Jan Hus in the Old Town Square. His original studio on Wenceslas Square was not suitable, so the sculptor bought a new space where the large sculpture could fit. The authors of the Art Nouveau design of the building (Slovenská 2499/4) with symbolist elements are Ladislav Šaloun himself and Josef Černý. The building was completed in 1912.
Trmal’s villa by Jan Kotěra combines elements of English modernism and Czech folk architecture
2. Do you know which famous architect has a museum in Trmal’s villa?
Jan Kotěra. It is interesting that at the time of its creation in 1903, the building (U nový vil 91/19) stood at the very end of the city and there was nothing around. The villa was built by the architect Kotěra for the prominent pedagogue František Trmala. The building combines elements of English modernism, but also of Czech folk architecture.
Villa František Pokorný is characterized by decorative terracotta tiles
3. Do you know in which villa the idea for the creation of the Orion chocolate factory originated?
In František Pokorný’s villa (Dykova 960/4). In 1928, Ladislav Machoň rebuilt the villa for Františka Pokorného Františka Pokorného, a member of the board of directors of Maršner’s chocolate factory. During the reconstruction, an architecturally very interesting part was added, which is covered with terracotta tiles. The interior of the building, which is decorated with Moorish-Arabic motifs, is also very unusual. One of the salons is even decorated with the Orion constellation. Pokorný believed that this particular constellation had magical power and later even initiated the renaming of the Maršner chocolate factory to the Orion chocolate factory.
Husova sbor building in Dykova street in Vinohrady
4. Do you know which building the rebels broadcast from in May 1945, when the Czechoslovak Radio building in Vinohrady was occupied?
From the building of Vinohrady’s Husov choir. The dominant feature is the 35-meter-high tower, which, like the entire building, was created in the constructivist style. The author of the building from 1931-33 is the architect Pavel Janák. An interesting fact is that when the studio in the Czechoslovak Radio building on Vinohradská trída was destroyed by the Nazis during the May Uprising in 1945, the insurgents found the broadcasting studio right here.
Hus’s choir on Vršovicky náměstí is one of the first Czech buildings made of prestressed concrete
5. Do you know which pre-stressed concrete was used as the building material for the first Czechoslovak church building?
At the Hus choir in Vršovice. The building designed by the architects Karel Truksa and Pavel Janák was built in the constructivist style in 1930. The dominant feature is the 26-meter high tower. There is a theater in the underground.
6. Do you know which famous architect lived in this villa?
Jan Kotěra. He bought the building (Hradešínská 1542/6) in 1907 together with his wife Berta. The following year, the reconstruction began, which ended in 1909. The building will not contain ashlar masonry with rough plaster and is in the style of rational geometric modernism.
Entrance to the occult cellar, where magic seances are held in Šaloun’s villa with the participation of a number of famous artists
7. Do you know the name of the part of Šaloun’s villa (Slovenská 2499/4) where famous guests met at the owner’s house and held big séances?
Occult Cellar. Seances often bordered on magical rites. The flourishing of Czech culture of that time met there. Guests included František Bílek, Otokar Březina, Alfons Mucha, Jaroslav Vrchlický, Ema Destinová, Jan Kubelík, Alois Jirásek, Josef Machar or Josef Váchal.
8. Do you know which other famous architect chose this villa in Prague 10 as their home?
Alois Dryak. On some maps, however, we can also find the name Müller’s Villa. It is a listed villa (Dykova 1039/6), which was built by the architect Alois Dryák in 1898-99 for his own family. The building was built in the style of Romantic Decorativism with intense Art Nouveau details. He was a neighbor across the street with another architect, Jan Kotěra.
The villa of the Čapků brothers is undergoing an expensive renovation
9. Do you know the name of the association of distinguished guests who met at the house of the Čapk brothers every Friday?
Friday people. The house of the Čapků brothers (Bratří Čapků 1854/30) is actually a combination of two villas. The building was built in 1923 by Ladislav Machon. Karel Čapek lived in the right part of the house, brother Josef lived in the left. A large garden is adjacent to the house. The place became famous for the frequent “Friday” gatherings, which was a meeting of the elite of cultural, social, political and scientific life, which took place every Friday. The relatively rich furniture and personal items of Karel Čapek have been preserved inside to this day. Josef had a painting studio in the attic. Today, the tenth district of Prague is renovating the building and wants to make it available to the public.
Memorial trolleybus stop of Prague public transport near Orionka
10. Do you know where in Prague 10 we can find the commemorative stop for the last original trolleybus ride in the metropolis?
At Orionka station. Nostalgic place, from where the last trolleybus in the ancient transport history of the capital city left on October 15, 1972. In 2010, a commemorative plaque was added, as well as a replica of the trolleybus stop marker. The place is located in the location where the Královská Vinohrady trolleybus depot used to be, which later served as a tram depot. Trolleybuses returned to the capital again on the day exactly 45 years after they started running on the line between Palmovka and Prosek.