Old postcards of Prague   the New Town 2/3

418 - A view of the whole extent of Ječná Street from Charles Square

In the background we can see the St Ludmila Church in Královské Vinohrady. In the middle ages the street was called Sviňský trh, i.e. Hog Market, as this was the dominant trade here. Later the predominant commodity was barley - hence the current name Ječná (meaning Barley) Street. In 1800 the street still had few buildings. The low-rise houses were punctuated by garden walls. It was only at the turn of the century that a more intensive construction of relatively high-rise residential buildings began here, the street was linked to the electric tram system, and eventually all of it re-paved. In the foreground, at the intersection with Charles square, we can see on the left the three-storey corner building U Kamenného stolu (The Stone Table), No. 550, demolished around 1908. On its site one of the most typical early modernistic buildings was built in 1911 by T. Petřík and K. Roštík. On the right we can see the corner of the church of St Ignatius of Loyola.

LACQUERED COLOURED COMBINED PRINT. V. KRÁTKORUKÝ, 1908

419 - Ječná Street looking towards Charles Square, i.e. in the opposite direction to that in the previous picture

On the right, on the corner of Štěpánská and Ječná Streets, we can see building No. 544, the local police headquarters. The fourth building in the row, No. 547, housed from 1900 the first canteen for medical students and Technical University students who studied in nearby university schools. On the left we can see the Church of St Ignatius, in front of it two old structures and, further, the intersection of Salmovská Street, and another five buildings before the intersection with Lipová Street, the corner of which is still in the picture. Two buildings in this row stand out because of their function: No. 508 was the headquarters of the highly active Cyclist Club Praha, and No. 511 (on the corner, just off the picture), was the locale of the well-known Schöbl restaurant, serving at the beginning of the century as the headquarters of the club of Postcard collectors. The electric tram linked Charles Square with Spálená Street. Pedestrians still cross the street without fear: traffic lights appeared in Prague only in the 1930s.

PHOTOTYPE. C. FISCHL, AROUND 1903

420 - The middle section of Ječná Street as seen from Charles Square

Most of the buildings in this section date back to the 1880s. One of the exceptions is the second building on the right U Zlatého kříže (The Golden Cross), No. 516. Originally mediaeval, then remodelled in Neo-Classical style, it used to house a music school. On the opposite side of the street, on the corner of U Karlova Street is the bulky Neo-Renaissance building of the Imperial Royal Czech Real Gymnasium (science-oriented grammar school), No. 517, constructed in the years 1873- 1875. The third building on the left, U Křtěnců (The Baptized), housed one of the schools for training of maids. As maids were a must in all wealthy families, such schools, which also arranged employment, were very prosperous. When this picture was taken, the street linked Královské Vinohrady with the newly built Palackého Embankment. Compared to the past, it was indeed much livelier, but it took a long time before shops, at first only second-rate shops, were established here and before they could compete with the shops in the parallel Žitná Street.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. K. ZUNA, AROUND 1908

421 - A view of the whole extent of Žitná Street

As seen from Charles Square as far as the intersection of Táborská Street. The original old buildings, mostly mediaeval, with exception of the low-rise building on the corner of Příčná Street, were, in approximately 1880, replaced by a row of imposing Neo-Renaissance buildings. On the left we can see the bulky corner house No. 669 with a balcony, and the café U Karla IV (The Charles IV). The next two buildings, Nos. 1688 and 1670, were built in plots zoned off from the original plot of the corner building. The second building on the left (behind the lantern) houses today the antiquarian shop of Z. Križek, specializing in the sale of graphic art, posters and old postcards. The third building on the right, with a bay in the middle, was a domicile of the first Minister of Finance of the independent Czechoslovakia after 1918, Dr. A. Rašín, the creator of the uniquely hard Czechoslovak currency in the midst of the post-World-War currency chaos in all neighbouring countries. He was assassinated in front of this building on February 17, 1923 by a 19-year old insurance company clerk who, as an anarcho-communist, loathed Rašín’s conservative politics.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. AROUND 1902

422 - The middle part of Žitná Street between Štěpánská and Táborská Streets

It is a medley of original mediaeval buildings with Neo-Classical facades and more recent structures built after 1870. The older buildings include two buildings on the left, Nos. 607 and 606. The next, three-storey building with a mediaeval core stands on the corner of Ve Smečkách Street. The four-storey building, No. 1383, housed the funeral parlour of K. Fuchs. Behind it, on the corner of Krakovská Street, is a tall building built on the site of three mediaeval buildings. On the right side of the street, U Zeleného stromu (The Green Tree) building housed the headquarters of the red cross nurses in the Czech Kingdom. The next structure, No. 570, on the corner of V Tůních (In the Pools) Street, housed the printing office of the Catholic cooperative Vlast (Fatherland) which issued a monthly of the same name, as well as Naše listy (Our Periodical) weekly, and the fortnightly Vychovatel (The Educator). In contrast to the stately gas lanterns in the nearby boulevards the lanterns in this street were merely functional.

PHOTOTYPE. K. BELLMANN, 1899

423 - A view of Žitná Street

As seen from the intersection with Štěpánská Street to the intersections of Táborská and Palackého Streets in Královské Vinohrady. On the left is the corner building Dva klíče (The Two Keys), No. 610, with the only outstanding carved shop window in the street. The shop owner, Č. J. Hadrbolec, sold textile goods here which he promoted through eye-catching displays in the second storey windows. One of the inhabitants of the building was, until 1904, Mrs M. Pečírková who for many years after death of her husband continued the publishing of the popular Pečírkův kalendář (Pečírka’s Almanac). On the right was a garden of the St Stephen’s rectory which was established here in 1440. Until the mid-1940s Žitná was one of Prague’s more sedate streets as it had no trams. Public transport reached this street only after the Second World War in the form of a trolleybus route, abolished only in 1972.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. F. J. JEDLIČKA, AROUND 1908

424 - The middle part of Štěpánská Street

As seen from Žitná Street, looking towards Václavské Square. The street received its name from the Church of St Stephen standing in the upper part of the street close to the intersection with Ječná Street (see picture 426). Considering the fact that it linked Václavské Square with Žitná and Ječná Streets, it was relatively tranquil, with little traffic. The smaller number of shops corresponded to this situation. The row of buildings on the western side begins on the left with building No. 647. The next two-storey double structure, Nos. 645 and 646, housed in 1848 the new town police headquarters. The three-storey buildings behind it date back to older building projects, while the following three structures are relatively new (built around 1880). In the house on the site of the first building lived in 1835 the physician Jan, knight Carro who introduced vaccination to Prague. V Jámě (In the Pit) Street (in front of the domed building) is so called after the pits which had been used since time immemorial for the disposal of waste from tanned leather.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. F. J. JEDLIČKA, AROUND 1906

425 - A part of the eastern section of Štěpánská Street close to Václavské Square

As seen from the intersection with V Jámě Street (this intersection is to the left of the picture). This is a very rare postcard capturing old buildings of which none is now extant. (A fragment of the former Schlaraffia Building, No. 623, was included, during a modern reconstruction, in the complex of the Alcron Hotel). On the right we can see the passage building U Hřebeckých, No. 622, housing a coal merchant’s. The next, a narrow pretentious four-storey building, No. 623, served at the time of the taking of this picture as the headquarters of the German civic association Schlaraffia, and also housed a pub popular especially among members of the nationalist German student Burschenschaften. The elongated two-storey building beyond it housed the printing office of E. Leschinger. The following four-storey building, No. 625, was renowned for its court brewery combined with a pub and later even a cabaret. In the period between the two world wars it was replaced by luxurious Alcron Hotel which had 279 beds. The row of buildings ends with the brewery U Primasů, demolished at the end of the 1920s. On its site the spacious premises of the Commercial Bank stand today.

PHOTOTYPE. E. SCHMIDT, DRESDEN - BUDAPEST, 1898

426 - A view of Štěpánská Street

Looking towards the Church of St Stephen, the tower of which can be seen in the background. In the area around the Church, long before founding of the New Town, was the settlement known as Rybníček (i.e. a little pond - there were three ponds here), with the small, old Church of St Stephen (the present-day Rotunda of St Longinus). The plots were owned by the Order of the Knights of the Cross with a red star which after the founding of the New Town built a new parish church serving a wider area. The little ponds served in the 14th century as the source of water delivered to the fountains of the Horse Market and the Cattle Market by what may have been the first Prague water supply system. On the left we can see the double building of Černý orel (The Black Eagle), Nos. 616 and 615, originally housing a German Gymnasium (i.e. grammar school). This was, some time after 1900, moved to the adjacent higher building, No. 614. The trees planted in the pavements did not last long. As soon as the street turned into a busy boulevard, the trees were removed.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. F. J. JEDLIČKA, 1901

427 - The southern part of Vodičkova Street

At its highest altitude as seen from the intersection of Jungmannova and Vodičkova Streets (see picture 431), offering us a view of the tower and the eastern wing of the New Town Hall. The street connects the two largest new squares - Václavské and Charles. On the left at the curve of the street stand the older structures, Nos. 680-678, with a number of shops, and beyond them, on the corner of the narrow Hopfenštokova Street (see picture 436), the higher building U Řečických, No. 677, with an advertisement on the side wall. On the right is a part of the Baroque building of duke A. J. Schwarzenberg, No. 16, whose rear annex reaches into Lazarská Street. The building housed a warehouse and a shop selling produce of the Schwarzenberg estates. The next house, No. 15, on the corner of Lazarská Street, originally mediaeval, with a facade remodelled in Baroque style, housed the National Savings Bank. Following the demolition of these two structures at the end of the 1920s, they were replaced by the Functionalist building of the mining and metallurgical company, designed by J. K. Říha.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. F. J. JEDLIČKA, 1906

428 - The U Štajgrů (formerly U Vodičků) Building No. 699

On the eastern side of Vodičkova Street. The two originally mediaeval houses were joined in 1467 by their owner, the butcher Vodička. This led to erection of the largest building in the street and the owner’s name was then given to the whole street. The structure was rebuilt in Baroque style, and was still extant at the beginning of the 20th century when it was owned by the big businessman J. Novák whose name can be seen on many places on the building. The structure housed the pub U Štajgrů, a department store selling cloth, and J. Novák’s tailor’s shop. Novák in the meantime became so rich that he could afford a more imposing building, which was built in 1902-1903 on the site of the old one and designed by O. Polívka in what was one of the most elegant examples of Art Nouveau architecture in Prague. In its time it was home of the largest department store in Prague called U Nováků (At the Nováks) which also published its own promotional postcards. Until 1993 the building also housed the legendary stamp-collecting exchange.

AUTOTYPIE. J. NOVÁK, 1900

429 - Vodičkova Street

As seen from the High School for Girls (on the right, just off the picture), looking towards Václavské Square. On the right, on the corner of Školská Street, is No. 695, with a Neo-Classical facade whose ground floor housed the popular Národní (National) Café. The next building on the right, the corner building No. 696, with a side front facing V Jámě Street, was partly demolished as a part of the broadening of the street. The new front made a retreat from the street, and today the building houses the famous Branický sklípek beerhouse. On the left we can see the monumental Neo-Renaissance Hlávka Building, Nos. 735 and 736, with gables and a rich sgraffiti decoration, built in 1889 by J. Tesař and J. Fanta. Its other front looks towards Jungmannova Street. It is a vast complex of five-storey buildings with comfortably furnished rented flats, at the time the priciest in Prague (53 thousand guldens per year). The ground floor housed a number of shops and the large Akademická Café (today converted into a Macdonald’s).

PHOTOTYPE. K. BELLMANN, 1899

430 - The northern section of Lazarská Street between Vodičkova and Spálená Streets

On the right we can see the rear wing of the already cited No. 16, and a low house on the corner of Vladislavova Street, No. 45. In 1930 they were replaced by a complex of modern buildings (then owned by the Mining and Metallurgical Company), which became the headquarters of Czech government institutions in the period of the Czechoslovak Federation, and which houses the popular Comedy Theatre on the ground floor. The little square along the pavement as far as the intersection with Vladislavova Street used to serve as a marketplace dealing in fruit, vegetables and other goods. It was one of the expressions of the tradition of Prague markets, especially butchers’ shops, which stood in the middle of the street from the founding of the New Town to January 1898. The original building on the corner of Vladislavova and Lazarská Streets was the ungainly Baroque structure of the Holy Trinity Monastery, No. 46, later converted into military barracks. After their demolition in 1899 the three new structures that we can see in the picture were built here.

PHOTOTYPE. F. J. JEDLIČKA, 1905

431 - A view of the whole Jungmannova Street (on the left), and of the larger part of Vodičkova Street (on the right)

In the foreground we can see the beautiful Baroque building, No. 730, owned by the famous sculptor M. Braun. On the facade of the building, between the windows, are metal advertising boards, and on the corner of Jungmannova Street display cases containing advertisements for the well-known photographer J. Mulač who, from 1896, ran a studio in Vodičkova Street. The building would stand here for another decade, to be demolished and replaced by the building of the Czech Savings Bank. In front of the structure we can see a newly-installed cylinder-shaped column for advertising posters - still with no posters on it. The column for posters was patented in 1824 in London, and first used in Central Europe 30 years later in Berlin by the circus renz for its publicity posters. Standing beyond the Braun Building were five structures of an older date. Upon their abolition, around 1900, a large residential double building, new No. 732, was built with fronts facing both streets.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. E. ČÍŽEK, AROUND 1900

432 - Jungmannovo Square

With a monument to the Czech national leader and linguist J. Jungmann (1773-1847), the author of Czech-German Dictionary, History of Czech Literature, and many others. The bronze statue on a granite pedestal was built in 1878 to a model by L. Šimek, and financed by the writers’ foundation Svatobor, founded by the historian F. Palacký in 1860. The site was covered by a cemetery in the middle ages, and at the northern wall stood a few low houses, approximately on the site of the ten buildings we can see on the left (Nos. 761-771). The oldest of these buildings is the elongated structure U Mottlů (The Mottl House), previously known as U Zlatého věnce (the Golden Wreath), No. 761, with a Baroque facade (see picture 316). The building on the right is a Franciscan Rectory of 1788, behind (off the picture) stands the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Snows founded in 1347 with the highest vault not only in Prague, but also in Bohemia: 35 metres. In the square we can see a fiacre stand which had been opened here as early as the 1790s.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. AROUND 1904

433 - The eastern side of Jungmannova Street

Seen from Vodičkova Street, looking towards Jungmannovo Square. On the right we can see a three-storey structure, No. 733, which is one of the group of five demolished houses which were replaced by a new building, new No. 732 (see picture 431). Beyond it stands the building U Kabounských, No. 734, newly built in about 1890. The following building is the above-mentioned Hlávka Building with its ornate elongated front, housing on its ground floor a number of exclusive shops and the music publishing house of M. Urbánek. The courtyard was the site of Kobr’s printing office. The bulkiness of the Hlávka Building contrasts with the low old building known as Bambasovský, No. 737. Beyond it, on the corner of Palackého Street, is the building of Victoria Hotel, No. 738, which in 1848 housed the headquarters of the Kouřim Region which then included the future Prague quarters of Karlín and Vyšehrad. On the opposite corner stands the house, new No. 739, constructed some time in the 1890s, and housing the First Civic Savings Bank.

PHOTOTYPE. L. J. ČECH, AROUND 1899

434 - The U Mottlů House on the corner of Jungmannovo Square, No. 761

With its main front facing Ferdinandova Street, while its side faced Ovocná Street. The building was constructed for the Central Bank of the Czech Savings Banks on the site of a three-storey Baroque building (see pictures 316 and 432) in 1906 by K. Mottl in the floral Art Nouveau style. On the right, on the corner of Jungmannova Street, stands the old structure U Zlatého říšského jablka (The Golden Orb), No. 752, owned by the court goldsmith and jeweller W. Rumml. Today we can see on this site the modern building of the former insurance company Riunione Adriatica di Sicurta of 1931 by K. Roškot and F. Lehmann. On the left, at the intersection of Ovocná and Perlová Streets we can see the building No. 371, owned in the 19th century by a wealthy ironmonger named Reach. His less wealthy colleague and namesake owned an ironmonger’s in the ghetto (see picture 243).

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. 1906

435 - The northern side of Palackého Street

Prior to the founding of the New Town the area was covered with muddy pools, and the place was called Na Louži (The Pool). The street was built as early as the end of the 14th century. In the course of time the street had a number of names, such as Tandléřská or Pasířská. At the end of the 19th century it was renamed in honour of the leading Czech historian and politician F. Palacký. Of the older buildings we can only see the Baroque Macnewen Palace, No. 719, constructed in 1780 by I. J. Palliardi in the sober late Rococo style and with an arch-like gable, later serving as the domicile of Palacký and his family. Further there are three buildings with a Neo-Classical facade before the Macnewen Palace, and another, low one, wedged in between two five-storey new buildings constructed in the 1890s. One of them (the building behind the Macnewen Palace) housed the flat and studio of the personal photographer of Archduke Franz Ferdinand d’Este, R. Bruner-Dvořák, who is probably also the author of pictures 146, 180 and 216.

PHOTOTYPE. L. J. ČECH, AROUND 1900

436 - Hopfenštokova Street between Školská and Vodičkova Streets

It is one of the narrow side streets typical of the centre of Prague. Originally called Řeznická (Butchers’) Street, it was later renamed Proti Šatlavě (Against the Jail) Street, after the jail in the New Town Hall opposite. The more recent name was derived from the physicist J. Hopfenštok who owned here building No. 674 on the corner of Vodičkova Street (in the background on the left). It housed among other things the polyclinic of the Czech University and the well-known beerhouse of the court brewery U Primasů. On the right, on the corner of Školská Street, we can see the New Town Basic School for Boys, No. 1442, built on the site of the former house U Ambrožů and its large garden. Around the year 1930 it housed a business school, and the headquarters of the Singing Community of Czechoslovakia which from 1897 published here its well-known Bulletin on Music and Singing.

PHOTOTYPE. F. J. JEDLIČKA, AROUND 1908

437 - Vladislavova Street

With building of the Měšťanská beseda (a civic patriotic society), No. 1477, between Charvátova and Lazarská Streets. The street is called after king Vladislav Jagiello who had the street established on the site of a former 13th- century Jewish cemetery (The Jewish Garden). The Měšťanská Beseda Building was constructed in 1870 as a social centre for the Czech burghers who began to associate from 1845. The first headquarters of this organization was in Uršulinská Street, No. 144 (it was opened in 1846 in the presence of Archduke Stephen), the second in the U Černé růže (The Black Rose) Building in Na Příkopě Street, and finally its third home was in the building in the picture. Adjacent to this building was a large garden with an architecturally interesting wall designed by the architect Stibral. One of the many varied activities of Měšťanská Beseda in the 1930s was the popularisation of social dancing, which took place here. From the mid-1950s the building housed Czechoslovak Television, while nowadays it houses the private TV channel Nova.

PHOTOTYPE. K. BELLMANN, 1898

470 - The sun-lit fronts of the buildings on the north-eastern side of U Městského sadu Street near Václavské Square

Prior to their construction in the years 1874-1875, this side of the street was covered by sparse low-rise buildings and gardens. On the site of the avenue of trees on the right was the Baroque fortification which was parted from the block of houses and gardens by a relatively narrow lane. On the demolition of the fortification and the old houses the street could be substantially broadened, and on the left side arose a row of imposing Neo-Renaissance structures, Nos. 1623-1620. At the time of taking of this picture, behind the block of flats there still stood the extant empire Inn on the corner of Bredovská Street (we can see the trees in front of it on the pavement) - it was demolished as late as 1923. It was replaced by the pseudo-historical bank building owned by the coal magnate Petschek and constructed within three years by the German architect M. Spielmann. In the period of Nazi occupation (1939- 1945) the building was used as the headquarters of the Gestapo and saw the interrogation and torture of innumerable Czech patriots.

PHOTOTYPE. K. BELLMANN, 1900

471 - Mariánská Street between Růžová Street (on the left, just off the picture) and Hybernská Street

Originally called Chudobická, after the settlement of Chudobice which had existed here before the founding of the New Town, it came to be called Mariánská in 1839 in honour of Maria Anna, the Austrian Empress and the last crowned Czech Queen. On the right, approximately 60 metres behind the avenue of trees, were the New Town ramparts. On the left, prior to the construction of the block of buildings, were small houses and gardens, as in the neighbouring street U Městského sadu. Some of the old structures stood here until 1885, such as house No. 958, which was then replaced by the fourth building from the left, or No. 959 (in front of the latter building, alone in the lane) which extended almost to the ramparts. These two neighbouring buildings, linked together, housed a saw-mill owned by the father of the well-known Czech poet J. Zeyer. Development in the period 1875-1900 was connected with demolition of ramparts aimed at broadening Mariánská Street. The advertising column in the background stands at the intersection with Jerusalémská Street.

PHOTOTYPE. K. BELLMANN, 1900

472 - A part of the City Park with a pond in front of the Franz Josef I Railway Station

Following demolition of ramparts between the Horse Gate and the New Gate in 1875, the city had at its disposal a vast area usable for new development and building of new roads. This was also true of the area in front of Prague’s main station which was used for creation of a large public park as a substitution for the abolished private gardens, and for popular trips of Prague populace to the ramparts. Following the flattening of the terrain, 10 thousand square metres of quality soil acquired in the course of digging foundations for the Rudolfinum had to be brought here, as well as mature decorative trees from other city parks. The architects created a round, planted area in the middle of the Park, and, at the cost of 52 thousand guldens, a little lake with rockery, fish and swans in front of the railway station. In order to avoid stirring up of dust, ladies were asked from 1902 by the displayed notice boards to kindly not wear trains.

PHOTOTYPE. K. BELLMANN, 1900

473 - Bredovská Street between the new German Theatre and Jindřišská Street with a glimpse of Panská Street

Bredovská was called after the counts of Breda who owned here building No. 936. In the foreground we can see the intersection with Mariánská Street. It was at Mariánská that Bredovská ended before 1874, as the area in the foreground was densely built-up. One of the few buildings originally standing here was the bulky U Zlatého korábu (The Golden Ship) building with the neighbouring Krátlova zahrada (Krátl’s Garden) which extended as far as the ramparts. Following demolition of the building a small part of the lot was used for the extension of Bredovská Street as far as the recently established City Park; the greater part of the lot was used for construction development, such as the building No. 1597 (on the right). At the furthest left we can see an older, Neo-Classical building, No. 929, which had a garden in front of it (off the picture). It was on the site of this former garden that the Petschek Building was erected. At the end of the street on the left, at the intersection with Jindřišská Street, we can see the side wing of the Post and Telegraph Directorate.

PHOTOTYPE. K. BELLMANN, 1900

474 - The new German Theatre in Sadová Street, No. 104

This stone structure was built in the years 1886-1887 to designs by the Viennese architects F. Fellner and H. Helmer. They contrived here an interesting combination of styles: Neo-Renaissance on the outside, Rococo inside. The Theatre specialized in operas and operettas, performances of plays were rare. One positive disadvantage of the theatre was its proximity to the railway station. The performances, especially solos, were often interrupted by whistling of the steam engines. In the period between the two world wars the theatre received annual subsidies of 2 million crowns from the Czechoslovak government. In return the theatre agreed to have two Czech performances per week. In 1945 the theatre was renamed the Theatre of the 5th May (in honour of the day on which the Czech rising against the Nazis in 1945 began), five years later it was again renamed Smetanovo, after the great Czech composer B. Smetana. Nowadays it houses the State Opera in Prague. As in the past, its present repertoire consists prevalently of opera and ballet.

LACQUERED COLOURED COMBINED PRINT. D. KOSINER, 1907

475 - One of the many triumphal arches

On the occasion of Prague visit of the Emperor in 1901, close to Franz Josef I Railway Station, shortly before its reconstruction. We can see a great deal of activity in the picture: families enjoying their excursion to the park, some heading for a brief look at the railway station. The arrivals and departures of the trains were still a thrilling sight not only for children but also for adults. And they were taken home by yet another of the modern technological miracles, an electric tram which, from 1897, connected the Station with other Prague quarters, Žižkov and Královské Vinohrady. On the right we can see behind the fence and the gate a storage place for so-called express articles. These consignments were transported by passenger trains which took 13 hours to get to Vienna. Other means of transporting consignments to Vienna by rail took 16 to 20 hours, non-urgent articles were delivered to Vienna within three days.

PHOTOTYPE. K. BELLMANN, 1901

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