Old postcards of Prague   Na Příkopě Street

286 - Midday traffic at the Golden Cross

I.e. the junction of Václavské Square, Na Příkopě, Na Můstku and Ovocná Streets. As is clear from the picture, both pedestrians and vehicles keep to the left and the idyll is not marred by any zebra crossings or traffic lights. There are still no traffic police in sight, although, in a mere quarter of a century, they will become part and parcel of the image of Prague’s most frequented streets. The head of the unicorn on the left corner lent its name to the building. The street line, dating back to the 17th century, and created by the buildings U Jednorožce (The Unicorn), No. 388, U Bílého beránka (The White Lamb), No. 389, and others, ranging to the Schiller Building, new No. 392, was changed only by new construction activities. The Schiller Building, a narrow four-storey structure with a tower-like roof behind the tram (on the left) replaced the original low-rise building Bílá koule (The White Ball - see pictures 287 and 288) in 1898.

A TWO-PART POSTCARD. PHOTOTYPE. K. BELLMANN, 1900

287 - The oldest existing picture postcard of the Golden Cross

Although published by K. Bellmann as late as 1898, the picture was taken in the early 1890s, as is attested by the dress of pedestrians, as well as other period details, such as the tin street name sign on the corner of Vídeňská kavárna (The Viennese Café) (on the right), giving the name of Václavské Square both in Czech and German. Strictly Czech-language street signs were introduced in Prague only in 1894, a fact which deeply troubled the local German-speaking minority. The imposing eight-branch gas lamp of 1867 in front of the café, designed by A. Lindsbauer, was to light the area for eight more years. This was the first in a row to talling six cast iron lamp-posts lighting Václavské Square. Both sides of Na Příkopě Street are lined merely with three-branch gas lamps, though situated more densely than the lamps in Václavské Square. The three-branch lamps were produced in the foundry of Count Hanavský in Komárov. A similar type of lamp, though adjusted to electricity, can be seen even today at the entrance ramp of the National Museum. H. Gottwald’s shop in the corner building U Špinků (on the right) stood here from the 1860s. The owner sold the produce of his factory here: iron furniture and beds, and also carpets, blankets, curtains, suitcases, satchels, umbrellas, spring mattresses, washing stands, etc. In order to promote his products he arranged exhibitions of goods in his shop. Thus e.g. between September and October 1898 he arranged an exhibition of modern carpets, and eventually also published promotional postcards. After Gottwald’s death in 1903 the shop survived for a short time before being replaced by the firm Kettner and Školaud. However, in 1910 the building was demolished and replaced by the Koruna Building in the years 1911-1914. On the left we can see the building U Jednorožce (The Unicorn), No. 388, with elegant shops on the ground floor, e.g. E. Löbl’s silk shop. The neighbouring one-storey structure U Bílého beránka (The White Lamb), dating to the beginning of the 17th century, was owned by Mrs A. Grohmannová who refused to sell her house as she was resolved to live in it till her death. It could therefore be demolished only then, together with the four-storey building standing behind it, No. 390. They were both replaced by the headquarters of the Viennese Bank Union (built between 1906 and 1908). We can clearly see the narrow four-storey building which is next in the row (No. 393). However, from 1898 it was obscured from view from the old street line by the somewhat protruding Schiller department store.

EXTRA LARGE POSTCARD. PHOTOTYPE. PICTURE AROUND 1892. K. BELLMANN, 1898

288 - The building U Špinků, No. 846, on the corner of Václavské Square and Na Příkopě Street

It is cited as the very first building constructed in the New Town after its founding. From approximately 1860 the second storey of the structure housed the Viennese Café. On the left, on the north-western side of Na Příkopě Street, we can still see four old buildings which were soon to be subject to interesting changes. On the left stands building No. 390, demolished in 1905 in connection with construction of the headquarters of the Viennese Bank Union. The next structure in the row, No. 391, adorned with a Baroque gable, was replaced by an Art Nouveau building in the years 1905-1906. The lowest building in this row, No. 392, was replaced in 1898 by the Art Nouveau building housing M. Schiller’s department store. Schiller also owned the neighbouring high-rise structure, No. 393. His original intention was, apart from demolishing the former building, to adapt the neighbouring higher structure and link both into one enormous department store. However, even though publicity postcards showing this edifice were put into circulation, the intention was never realised for reasons which remain unknown.

PHOTOGRAPH. K. BELLMANN, AROUND 1892

289 - The billiards saloon on the second storey of the Viennese Café

With its windows facing onto Václavské Square and Na Příkopě Street (on the right). The interior is arranged in Rococo style, which applies even to the burners of the gas lights and to the clocks. Billiards was invented in the French royal court in the 16th century, and spread especially thanks to Louis XIV. However, in the 18th century it was still a game limited to higher social classes and it was taught in licensed schools. It was only in the 19th century that billiards spread to cafés, becoming by the turn of the century a standard fixture. The famous Czech producers of billiards tables at this time included the firms Stočes & Vogel, Žabokrtský, or Neubauer.

PHOTOGRAPH. K. BELLMANN, AROUND 1892

290 - A view of Na Příkopě Street from Václavské Square capturing in the prism of diffused light the atmosphere of one autumn afternoon

As can be seen, a photographer was still an attraction for the Prague populace. An interesting characteristic of the time is the fact that none of the men has an uncovered head - almost all of them have their hats on, with exception of the Jewish boy wearing a yarmulke, and the public messenger on the right wearing a peaked cap with a number on it. He was certainly not short of clients in such a well-frequented place. The picture was taken at a time when gas lighting was in the process of being replaced by electric lighting. While the left side of the street is already lit by electricity (see the tall columns), on the right side three-branch lamps with gas burners still prevail, though they have already been removed from in front of the U Špinků Building. The introduction of electricity was quickly exploited by H. Gottwald who used electricity for the outside lighting of his shop windows. However, these outside lights had soon to be replaced by inside lighting, especially for practical reasons, such as rain (see picture 296).

PHOTOTYPE. AROUND 1901

291 - Members of the Czech patriotic Sokol physical culture organization

In a funeral procession marking the transport of remains of J. Kollár (1793-1852) to Prague’s Olšanské Cemetery. The poet was until May 1904 buried in Vienna. Kollár, revered by both the Czechs and Slovaks, was accompanied on his last journey, from the State Railway Station across Prague to the Cemetery, by representatives of the city, Czech patriotic organizations and associations. The streets were crowded with onlookers, and the balcony of the Edison Café was no exception. The picture is a typical example of a reportage shot: the photographer took a series of pictures of the whole event and numbered them consecutively (this picture is No. 11). Both the two-storey Baroque building U Bílého beránka (The White Lamb), No. 389, together with the higher structure, strangely called Žába v kaluži (The Frog in the Pool), No. 390, of which one can only see the large side wall, were demolished one year after this picture was taken. They were replaced by the building of the Viennese Bank Union by J. Zasche, today housing the Commercial Bank.

PHOTOGRAPHIC POSTCARD. 1904

292 - The Old Town side of Na Příkopě Street as seen from Václavské Square

The picture shows morning traffic at the Golden Cross. The hatted ladies are returning from shopping, the goods they chose being delivered to their homes by shop-boys and so none of them is carrying a bag. A little to the side of the picture is a woman with firewood in her arms. However, much more imposing parades of hats and ladies’ fashions took place each day after 5 p.m., and on Sundays on the promenades. Regular strolls in particular locations, sometimes lasting several hours, were regarded as socially de rigueur. The best-known promenade was along Na Příkopě Street, but this was strictly the business of Prague’s German-speaking minority. The favourite Czech promenade was in Ferdinandova Street. The promenades were no Prague speciality: each town of any size in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy had its promenade.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. H. SEIBT, MEISSEN, AROUND 1902

293 - This further example of the many pictures of this highly frequented intersection

Also includes two originally mediaeval houses in Václavské Square: from the right we can see the building U Modrého lva (The Blue Lion), No. 843, and the building U Řemenářů, also known as U Broků, No. 844, built on lots which were once a part of the corner building U Špinků, No. 846. These three lots were eventually reunited in 1914 when the three demolished structures were replaced by the Koruna Building. Transportation at the intersection is already carried out strictly by electric trams. The four-axle type on the right was clearly influenced by American examples, and the famous Prague firm of Ringhoffer produced them in the years 1898-1901. A de luxe version of one of these trams won a prize at the Paris World Exhibition in 1900.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. PROBABLY BY LEDERER & POPPER, AROUND 1902

294 - The grand Edison Café on the second storey of the Löbl department store on the corner of Ma můstku Street

Originally known as Kovářova, the Café was soon renamed by its new owner, K. Klein, after the famous American inventor. As he realized that his café was situated precisely in the border zone between the Czech and the German promenades, he chose a name which sounded neutral enough to both clienteles. At least this was the explanation which one of the subsequent owners, Turnovský, offered to Edison himself during his two-day stay in Prague in 1911. The Café, to which access was gained via a lift, was famous for its splendid view of Václavské Square. In the winter the prospect was limited to a view from the windows, but the summer weather enabled the guests to look from the balcony, where they could remain hidden from the curious stares of the pedestrians below as the railing of the balcony was covered with a rambling plant.

PHOTOTYPE. AROUND 1908

295 - A view of Na Příkopě Street from Ovocná Street across the Golden Cross

The recently built Löbl department store on the left stands on the corner of Na Můstku Street. The horse-drawn cabs and fiacres are at this point in time still a part and parcel of the Prague street scene, but in two years time the fiacres were already challenged by motor-driven taxi cabs which had their first stand in Václavské Square. Although by the time at which the picture was taken all tram transportation had been electrified, the horse-drawn cab and fiacre were still favourite means of transport, especially among more conservative Prague citizens. They were more comfortable, one did not have to wait, and stands were everywhere - in front of cafés, railway stations, theatres, and the biggest of them in all large squares. In the picture we can see a cab turning onto Václavské Square. (In contrast to the fiacres, cabs were always drawn by only one horse.) The first Prague fiacre has been documented as early as 1789, and in that same year their number grew to 34. In the 1880s Prague had about 300 horse-drawn cabs and 220 fiacres.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. O. ZŮNA, AROUND 1903

296 - The beginning of the New Town side of Na Příkopě Street as seen from the corner of Václavské Square

The picture shows the U Špinků Building (on the right) housing the shop of H. Gottwald, the Haas & Söhne department store, the U Urbachů Building, No. 848, and the Creditanstalt Bank Building. The U Urbachů Building arose in 1784 on the site of two buildings, Nos. 848 and 849. Later its facade was remodelled in Neo-Renaissance style, and the roof was capped with a cupola. The front was adapted around 1900 into the appearance we can see in the picture, while at the same time the decorative statues were removed and a shop with large windows was established on the second storey. But by far the most advantageously located shop was H. Gottwald’s, with its highly qualified sales clerks and efficient administration. From the end of the 19th century the long-standing accountant of this company, V. Legner, regularly posted postcards to his fiancée and future wife, Miss Zajptová, in Kanina u Mělníka, who was a postcard collector. Not surprisingly some of the postcards of Prague included promotional postcards of Gottwald’s shop (showing interiors, carpet displays etc.)

.LACQUERED COLOURED COMBINED PRINT. D. KOSINER & CO., 1907

297 - A view of the junction of the Golden Cross

With a glimpse of Na Příkopě Street as seen from building No. 772 on the corner of Václavské Square. The greatest changes had by this time occurred on the Old Town side of the street. The buildings Nos. 389 and 390 had been replaced by the building of the Viennese Bank Union, built between 1906 and 1908 by J. Zasche. The modern conception of this structure set off a new period in the development of Prague architecture. The adjacent building, new No. 391, U Dörflerů (also called U Pelikána) with its high gable built a little earlier by J. Justich, still has all the attributes of the Art Nouveau obsession with decoration. A new feature at the junction is the clock, moved here from the pavement on the left. The tram turning from Ovocná Street to Václavské Square is a four-axle motorised car produced some time in the period 1899-1901, i.e. of the same type we can see in picture 293. In front of the shop of H. Gottwald we can see an advertisement for a friendly match between the W.A.C. (Wiener Athletic Club) and the Prague-based D.F.C. (Deutsches Fussbal Club).

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. J. BLAŽEK, 1910

298 - The south-eastern section of Na Příkopě Street near Václavské Square

On the right we can see a part of the U Špinků Building, behind it the department store Haas & Söhne, No. 847, one of the oldest department stores in Prague. It was built in the years 1869-1871 to the design of A. Kirpal in the style of the Late North Italian Renaissance. For its time the building had remarkably large windows in the front, and the A. Lindsbauer interior was no less remarkable, with a cast iron staircase and columns supporting the roof. The shop specialised in selling curtains, furniture textiles and carpets, which were shown to customers using steam-driven hoists which, however, have unfortunately not been preserved. The narrow vacant lot behind the building was used as an entrance to the joint courtyard used by several adjacent buildings. The year 1914 saw construction of a part of the Koruna Building on one part of this lot, while another part was used as a passage to Václavské Square. Behind the next building, U Urbachů, we can see the building of the Creditanstalt Bank with its cupola, new No. 850, built in the years 1894-1896 by E. von Förster. The photograph also shows a moveable platform, in popular parlance a gallows, used in the repair of the tram trolley wires.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. F. J. JEDLIČKA, 1903

299 - The south-eastern section of Na Příkopě Street near the intersection with Panská Street

On the left we can see a part of the German Gymnasium (i.e. grammar school), the Church of the Holy Cross and two buildings with a unified Neo-Classical facade: the corner building No. 1261, and the building U Tří nových lip (The Three New Lime Trees), No. 854. The latter building was the last dwelling place of the writer B. Němcová who died here in 1862. Her stay is commemorated by the bust of her on the Commercial Bank, which was constructed on the corner area of Na Příkopě Street in 1930 by B. Bendelmayer (see the text accompanying picture 309). The adjacent building, U Černé růže (The Black Rose) with a quasi-Romantic facade, No. 853, built in 1840 by J. Frenzel, was one of the first buildings in Prague furnished with bathrooms. Its owner in around 1900 was the big businessman B. Bondy, a member of the Chamber of Trade and Crafts, who was substantially involved in the efforts to assimilate the Bohemian Jewry into the Czech environment. The shop of the Federer & Piessen Company sold here all kinds of bodices until the year 1918 when they were definitely out of fashion. The modern passage of 1932, connecting Na Příkopě Street with Panská Street, was built by O. Tyl on the site of a vast courtyard.

AUTOTYPE. FEDERER & PIESSEN, AROUND 1897

300 - The Sylva-Tarouc Palace in the south-eastern part of Na Příkopě Street

This Late Baroque building is the most beautiful secular building by K. I. Dientzenhofer from the period 1743-1751. The statues decorating the Palace are the creation of I. Platzer, and the Rococo interior, one of the earliest of its kind in Prague, was probably created by A. Lurago. The Palace was restored in 1878 by A. Wolf. This building with three courtyards still had a large garden at the end of the 19th century, reaching as far as the former Meisner Riding School. After close of the Czecho-Slavonic Ethnological Exhibition in 1895, Count A. Sylva-Tarouc had some of the exhibits deposited in the Palace, and they were later to become the foundation of the collections of the Ethnological Museum. Ten years later this museum was removed to the Kinský Summer House in the Prague Quarter of Smíchov. The Palace also housed the St Wenceslas Savings Bank whose decline at the turn of the century was one of the sensations of the day. Until recently the Palace housed the well-known Savarin Café.

PHOTOTYPE. K. BELLMANN, 1899

301 - The Příchovských Palace, later the German House, today the Slavonic House, No. 859

The originally Baroque palace built in around 1697 was, in 1797, remodelled in Neo-Classical fashion by F. Heger. The builder retained the original disposition of the Palace, including both Baroque portals, but he elevated both internal wings by one storey. In the period 1875-1945 this building of the exclusive German Club was a social and political centre of the Prague German-speakers (these represented in 1910 6.1 per cent of the 223,741 inhabitants of Prague). The building complex in the rear housed a luxurious restaurant which included a large garden extending as far as Senovážné Square. Behind the fiacre stand we can see one of the first shops selling motor car accessories, and above it we can see an advertisement for Michelin tyres attesting to the long tradition of this world-renowned French company.

PHOTOGRAPHIC POSTCARD. PICTURE 1912. Z. REACH, 1920s

302 - A section of Na Příkopě Street from its centre to the U Hybernů (The Hibernian) Building

At first sight the most imposing building is that of the Provincial Bank (on the right), No. 858, built in the Czech Neo-Renaissance style by O. Polívka in 1896. The decoration of the front and the interior was the joint work of C. Klouček, K. V. Mašek, S. Sucharda, M. Aleš, M. Švabinský and others. The Provincial Bank was founded in 1890 and, apart from usual banking operations, it was involved in providing credits and in issuing bonds in the areas of municipal activity, reclamations, railways and construction. The bank was extended in the years 1911-1912 by the corner building (on the right, just off the picture) by the same architect. Beyond the building of the bank we can see the elongated front of the German House, and in the background we can see the completion works on the Trade Bank building. The first building on the left, No. 958, is still extant. The adjacent structure, No. 584, was the oldest one in the row. In 1792 it stood here alone, surrounded by gardens. All the buildings on this side of the street, with exception of No. 958, were demolished in the 1920s and 1930s.

PHOTOTYPE. E. SCHMIDT, DRESDEN - BUDAPEST, 1900

303 - The Modrá Hvězda (Blue Star) Hotel, No. 864

And the Trade Bank on the corner of Na Příkopě Street intersection with Hybernská Street. This, one of the most comfortable Prague hotels, remodelled in Neo-Classical style in 1846, is connected with a number of personalities and historical events. Among its guests were F. Chopin, the French Empress Eugenia, and, in connection with closing of the so-called Prague Peace in 1866, also the Prussian King Eilhelm I and Chancellor Bismarck. The neighbouring Trade Bank was founded by Czech savings banks in 1868 with a stock capital of 8 million guldens. Its net profit in 1896 was 700 thousand guldens, and the dividend amounted to 7 per cent. The building, designed by O. Polívka, was built on the site of structures Nos. 862 and 863 in the years 1898-1901. It was demolished approximately four decades later, together with the neighbouring Modrá hvězda Hotel and yet another adjacent hotel, Černý kůň (The Black Horse), No. 860. In their place arose the new monumental edifice of the Trade Bank by F. Roith, currently housing the headquarters of the Czech National Bank.

SVĚTLOTISK. K. BELLMANN, 1901

304 - A glimpse of Na Příkopě Street

From the intersection in front of the Powder Tower, including a part of Josefské Square, Hybernská Street (on the left) and Celetná Street (on the right, beyond the gate). The picture enables us to make a close scrutiny of the pointed facade of the Modrá hvězda Hotel, of the Trade Bank, new No. 862, and beyond it the Černý kůň Hotel. After their demolition in the period 1928- 1939 the vacant lot was used for construction of the imposing edifice of the trade bank, with a passage connecting Na Příkopě Street with Senovážné Square. Also on the right, on the Old Town side, we can clearly see the Neo-Classical front of the Czech Discount Bank, with its Art Nouveau facade, the Corso Café, and the light front of the Czech Industrial Bank, No. 988. This was also the place where the tram lines crossed. One of them connected Hybernská Street with the suburb of Žižkov. It is actually to Žižkov that the tram in the picture is heading. It is a two-axle motor tram of the Electric Transportation Company (probably car No. 113) launched in 1901.

LACQUERED COLOURED COMBINED PRINT. D. KOSINER & CO., 1908

305 - A view of the Neo-Classical building U Hybernů

At the time of taking of the picture used as a Customs’ Office, as seen from Na Příkopě Street. On the right we can see the front of The German House and the Černý kůň Hotel. On the left is building No. 990, in 1897 remodelled by F. Ohmann in Art Nouveau style. This was the founding creation of the Prague Art Nouveau movement and is outstanding for the elegant colours of its front and the rich decoration provided by the paintings by V. Oliva and A. Hofbauer. It was even more impressive in the evenings when lit by brass lanterns hanging on the facade. The building housed the comfortable and elegant Corso Café located on the second storey, with a porch which was a part of the Café. The name of the Café derived from the German promenade or Korso on this side of the street. In 1900 the Café became the first home of the Club of Postcard Collectors. The next building, No. 969, housed the Czech Discount Bank, one of the most distinguished institutions of its kind in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Its dividend in 1897 amounted to 15 per cent! Both buildings (including building No. 982 in Celetná Street) were demolished in 1929 and replaced by a new bank building which today houses the Commercial Bank.

PHOTOTYPE. D. KOSINER & CO., AROUND 1906

306 - One morning (9.15 a.m.) on the Old Town side of Na Příkopě Street between Havířská Street (on the left) and the Powder Tower

The Neo-Classical corner building U Modrého raka (The Blue Crayfish), No. 583, housed the exclusive shop called Bazar Parisien, owned by S. Federer, and specializing in the sale of ties and luxury men’s goods, as well as the Café Central, a favourite meeting place for Jewish businessmen who were fond of playing tarot or whist. This, as well as two other buildings in Havířská Street (Nos. 582 and 581) were demolished in 1927 and replaced by the Functionalist headquarters of the Praha Insurance Company designed by L. Kysela. It was adapted by F. Cubr into The House of Children in the period 1950-1952. The building with the two towers is the more recent Kolovrat Palace of 1884 which was built in the garden of the original palace (with the front facing Ovocný trh Square). The Palace housed another famous Prague café, the Continental, the Piskáčkova Restaurant and the New York Insurance Company. For the structure standing behind the Palace, including the vacant lot later called Myslbek, see pictures 308 and 310.

PHOTOGRAPH. AROUND 1914

307 - The north-western, Old Town side of Na Příkopě Street

With the intersection with Havířská Street (behind the column), as seen from the opposite angle to that in picture 306. The picture is dominated by the Kolovrat Palace, No. 1047, built in the garden of the original palace in 1884 by the Viennese construction firm Helmer & Fellmer. The residential building with the Café Continental on the second storey, housed a number of exclusive shops on its ground floor: U Korunní princezny (The Crown Princess) selling ladies’ goods, the representation of Cley’s American Diamond Company, which sold both authentic diamonds and their imitations, as well as the exchange office of J. G. Selig who had moved here from the recently demolished building U Bílého beránka (The White Lamb) and who later, in the post-war republic, became the owner of a banking house. Thanks to this picture we can also see the three-storey building No. 393 (the second building behind Havířská Street) from the opposite angle to that in picture 288. We can also see a configuration of the recently built structures behind it, including the building of the Viennese Banking Union.

PHOTOGRAPH. AROUND 1910

308 - The publicity postcard of the Menswear Warehouse of the J. Rothberger Company in building No. 1025 (next to the Kolovrat Palace)

This structure, with its Neo-Classical facade, was built around the year 1865 on the extended lot of two buildings standing in Ovocný trh Square: U Dvou zlatých klíčů (The Two Golden Keys), No. 577, and U Dvou sloupů (The Two Columns), No. 578. The structure housed a large clothing shop, originally owned by B. Salzer & Son, later by J. Rothberger. Also here we can see the beautifully carved Neo-Renaissance shop-windows and the then fashionable advertisements in French and Russian. The persuasive power of the advertisements is underlined by the display of medals won by products of the firm at various exhibitions, and the side wall of the structure is also used for advertising. On the right we can see one of the smaller buildings on the vacant lot with a Children’s Bazaar selling dresses and petticoats for little girls. Building No. 1025, as well as the small house on the right, were demolished in 1929. This area was used as a stand for fiacres, the row of which usually extended as far as the corner of Havířská Street.

PHOTOTYPE. AROUND 1903

310 - A view of the low-rise buildings Nos. 1025 and 574 in what was to become the future empty lot called Myslbek

Until the mid-19th century this area was covered by gardens belonging to buildings facing Ovocný trh Square. The Neo-Classical, one-storey building, No. 999, was the first structure built in this place (on former lot No. 576), and later extended with temporary ground floor buildings serving as shops. By the time of taking of this picture the Children’s Bazaar in the annex on the left had been replaced by B. Vaníčková’s ladies’ goods shop, the next structure in the middle housed the jewelry shop of S. Jakobowicz, and the annex on the right was used by the Singer Sewing Machine Company (on lot 575). All the buildings in the picture, including buildings Nos. 574-578 in Ovocný trh Square, were purchased in 1929 by the Union Bank which had them demolished with the intention of replacing them with a large banking complex. However, this intention was never materialised, and the vacant lot created by the demolition was first used for construction of the Myslbek pavilion, then as a park, yet later as a building site for Prague’s Metro, and eventually, in 1997, for construction of the controversial commercial-administrative centre Myslbek.

PHOTOGRAPHIC POSTCARD. AROUND 1928

311 - A view of the north-western side of Na Příkopě Street during the John Huss celebrations in 1903

The celebrations took place on the occasion of laying of the foundation stone of Huss’s monument, which was unveiled in Staroměstské Square in 1915. The participants of the celebratory march included members of the Czech patriotic physical culture organization Sokol, representatives of the Town Council, headed by lord Mayor Srb, representatives of the Prague Czech University, as well as a delegation of American Czechs and members of various craft guilds. Na Příkopě Street was decorated with Czech red-and-white flags on wooden masts fixed in the pavement. The row of Neo-Classical buildings begins on the right with a part of the twin building Nos. 958 and 959, built in the 1830s, serving as the headquarters of the Union Bank founded in 1872. The row then continues with building No. 957 with its Neo-Renaissance front (both buildings are still extant, the first of them elevated by one storey). The row finally ends with building No. 574, which was demolished in 1929. At the same time demolitions affected a whole complex of buildings extending as far as the Kolovrat Palace, nowadays replaced with the Myslbek commercial-administrative centre.

AUTOTYPE. F. J. JEDLIČKA, 1903

312 - The Neo-Renaissance building with Art Nouveau elements, new No. 388

On the corner of the Na můstku (on the left) and Na Příkopě Streets. It was built in 1901 by F. Buldra for the noblewoman A. Rusheimová on the site of the older Renaissance building U Jednorožce (The Unicorn). The ground floor housed Ephraim Löbl, the oldest and best furnished department store trading in silk, the second storey housed a café, first known as Kovářova, later as the Edison. In the 1920s the corner building was elevated by two attic floors, and later modernized by the removal of the decorative facade. The textile shop stayed in the building until its demolition in 1973. That year also saw demolition of the neighbouring building U Kasírů, new No. 387, standing behind the former, in both cases in connection with construction of the Metro. In the early 1980s the lot was used for construction of a building for Českomoravská-Kolben-Daněk, one of the biggest Czech machinery companies. It was based on a design by A. and J. Šrámek.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. E. LÖBL, AROUND 1904

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