Old postcards of Prague   St Peter´s Quarter

515 - A panoramic view of the lower part of the New Town from Letná

It is from the Letná plain that we can enjoy this bird’s-eye view of a part of the Petrská Quarter embankment, with the first of three groups of mills on the Vltava bank. Behind the towers of the Franz Josef I Bridge we can see the tall building of the Kandert Baths, No. 1248, built in 1869 by J. Ehlen and J. Kandert in a romantic Neo-Gothic style. Behind the Baths stands the dominant New Mill Waterworks tower built in a Neo-Renaissance style. At its foot stands the building of the Vávra Mill, No. 1239. This was remodelled in 1834 in a Neo-Classical style. Its rooms are decorated with wall paintings by the Czech painter J. Navrátil (the structure currently houses the Post Museum). Near the Vltava we can see a group of the New Mills with the Waterworks, No. 1240. Stretching from the Waterworks across the river and under the Bridge is the New Mill weir. Except for the Waterworks tower and the Vávra Mill, all other buildings in the picture were demolished: the mills during the adaptation of the embankment in 1915-1916, the Baths in 1940, and the Bridge in 1947.

PHOTOTYPE. H. SEIBT, MEISSEN, BEFORE 1903

517 - The Kubeš Mill, No. 1220, standing amidst group of the Helmovské Mills in Klimentská Street

It was no doubt the most charming mill building in the New Town. Its side front was decorated with hefty four-storey Renaissance gables, and on one of the corners was a large Sun Dial divided into 24 hours. The Mill, which was documented as early as 1398, was owned by the wealthy Helm family, after whom the nearby street (Helmovská) and a group of mills were also named. The Mill burned down in 1607 and was rebuilt again. Still in the mid-19th century the mill building towered among the surrounding low-rise wooden mills. The Kubeš Mill was demolished in 1929. In front of it we can see a wooden house with a shingle roof and with a wooden-fenced enclosure used for beating and cleaning carpets. Behind the enclosure (on the left, just off the picture) were steps leading to the river.

FOUR-COLOUR AUTOTYPE. AFTER AN OIL-PAINTING BY J. MINAŘÍK, 1907. F. J. JEDLIČKA, AROUND 1915

519 - A view from Korunní (Crown) Island to the Vltava lagoon

Between the Helmovské Mills (on the left) and the Lodní (Ship) Mills (on the right). The first group of mill buildings on the right ends on the bank with the Kubeš Mill. In front of it we can see a wooden structure and an enclosure for cleaning carpets (see picture 517). The second group ends with the Freund Building (see picture 523). Behind the Kubeš Mill stands the large Neo-Renaissance double-building with little corner towers, new Nos. 1219 and 1746, built in the years 1891-1892. Behind the Freund Mill is the hefty Špaček Building, No. 1216, also with little corner towers. Between them, on the left, we can see Helmova Street, and further the southern side of Klimentská Street which consists of four old three-storey and two-storey buildings with arcades (see picture 523), and on the right Mlynářská Street, the northern side of which consisted merely of several enclosed gardens.

FOUR-COLOUR AUTOTYPE. AFTER AN OIL-PAINTING BY J. MINAŘÍK, 1907. F. J. JEDLIČKA, AROUND 1915

520 - A view of Klimentská Street, looking northwards toward a part of Novomlýnská Street

The picture shows two interesting Renaissance buildings from the second half of the 16th century, unfortunately demolished in 1924. On the left we can see the eastern part of the large old building with a walled porch, No. 1235, with its main front facing Klimentská Street. Until 1789 the building served as a poor house for 640 inmates, then it housed a silk factory, and around the middle of the 19th century an orphanage. At the time of the painting of this picture it housed the billiards factory of F. Žabokrtský, a tannery with an interesting drying facility in the courtyard, and workshops of various craftsmen. In the background we can see the front of the building U Arnoštů, No. 1231, with an interesting tower area with a lunette cornice. This complex building, as well as the adjacent tall factory building (whose silhouette we can see on the right) were surrounded in the north by the arm of the Vltava depicted in picture 518.

FOUR-COLOUR AUTOTYPE. AFTER AN OIL-PAINTING BY J. PANUŠKA, AROUND 1900. V. KRÁTKORUKÝ, AROUND 1915

521 - A view of the group of Lodní (Ship) Mills (on the left) as seen from the western end of the Korunní (Crown) Island

This row of buildings, Nos. 1301 to 1295 (remodelled into the appearance we can see in the picture around 1860), was demolished in the years 1915-1916. The row ends on the bank with a wall, and with the Renaissance Freund Mill (see picture 524). To the right of the mills we can see, as if rising from the water, the rear fronts of three Renaissance houses in Barvířská Street, Nos. 1225, 1226 and 1540. These romantic-looking buildings were demolished in the 1930s. The view is made even more impressive by the silhouette of the Neo-Baroque Špaček House, No. 1216 (behind the Freund Mill). The building derived its name from its owner V. Špaček, who was, among other things, also the owner of the famous Bohemian Castle of Kokořín. The Špaček building complex housed large horse stables used for post carriages. The front of the structure facing Samcova Street had on it a fresco with a picture of the time-honoured post office in the town of Soběslav in the background. The building was demolished for no good reason in 1993.

FOUR-COLOUR AUTOTYPE. AFTER AN OIL-PAINTING BY J. MINAŘÍK, 1907. F. J. JEDLIČKA, AROUND 1915

522 - The Church of St Clement (in Czech Kliment) at the beginning of Klimentská Street as seen from Eliščina Street

The consecration of the church indicates its mediaeval origin. Although its romanesque predecessor has been documented by archaeological research, the first document citing the Church appeared as late as 1226. It used to be the parish church of the settlement which stood on this site before the founding of the New Town. The Gothic structure was constructed in the 14th century, and adapted in the 16th century. In 1784 the church was abolished, deconsecrated, and after nine years sold for 700 guldens to the miller V. Michalovic who converted it into a barn. In 1850 the church building was acquired by the Czech Evangelical Church. In 1878 the area around the Church was bought by Prague municipality for 10 thousand guldens to establish a small park here. In the 1890s the Church underwent a radical purist renovation. On the right we can see the front of what may have originally been a mediaeval house with an inn where billiards were played, judging from the inscription above the entrance porch. It is apparently the house U Kolínských, No. 1205.

PHOTOTYPE. L. J. ČECH, AROUND 1900

523 - A stretch of Klimentská Street

Between Helmovská Street (behind the photographer) and Samcová Street, looking westward. In this stretch Klimentská got close to the river, and was only separated from it by a narrow strip of the riverside covered with gardens and enclosures (on the right). Therefore it was possible to see the undulating silhouette and the front of the houses on the left especially well when looking from the north. In the picture we can see three Baroque houses, Nos. 1218, 1217 and 1172, of the 17th and 18th centuries. They have a surprisingly low, massive arcade which also continues under the fourth building on the left which is just off the picture. The houses were demolished in the years 1914-1915. On the right we can see a wall of the garden of Freund’s Mill which runs parallel to Klimentská Street, and which apparently ends with the office buildings with tall roofs, No. 1224. Behind it is the Renaissance residential building of the Mill (see picture 524).

PHOTOGRAVURE. PICTURE AROUND 1910, PHOTOGRAPHER J. EMLER. UNIE PRAGUE, BEGINNING OF THE 1920s

525 - A view of Petrská Street

As seen from Petrské Square, looking towards the belfry of the Church of St Peter, and further towards the quarter of Těšnov. The belfry of St Peter’s Church, a Renaissance structure of 1598 with a more recent cupola, stood originally in the enclosure of the former cemetery at St Peter’s Church. Following demolition of the enclosure walls, it suddenly appeared in the middle of the street. Its continued existence was seriously endangered by the planned tram route connecting Těšnov with Dlouhá Road, but fortunately this plan never materialised. The ground floor of the belfry, which at the time of taking of this picture housed a dairy, was later converted into a passage. On the left we can see two originally mediaeval buildings: Na Špalku, No. 1180, owned by the Jewish religious community, and the narrow house U Pěti ran Krista Pána (The Five Wounds of Christ), No. 1179. Between them is a wall of the garden belonging to one of these houses. The structures standing on the right, Nos. 1133, 1135 and 1136, are originally mediaeval, later remodelled. The more recent four-storey building, No. 1134, used to house the Poříčí Synagogue.

PHOTOTYPE. F. J. JEDLIČKA, 1903

526 - The intersection of Truhlářská Street and Zlatnická Street (on the right, just off the picture)

An identical view to that in picture 525, but from a more distant view point, namely the intersection of Truhlářská Street and Zlatnická Street (on the right, just off the picture). The square is the main area of the Petrská Quarter which was founded by German merchants in the romanesque period. At the furthest left we can see a part of the building Dva modré klíče (The Two Blue Keys), No. 1184, on the corner of Lodecká Street and Barvířská Street (which is off the picture). At the time of this picture it was used by the Jewish religious community (the prayer-room of E. Eger, S. Frankl and E. Porges). The next building, the large Baroque house Zlatý klíč (The Golden Key), No. 1181, stands on the corner of Petrské Square. The neighbouring new four-storey building with the romantic pseudo-historical facade, No. 1426, built some time at the beginning of the second half of the 19th century, stands on the corner of the square and Petrská Street. Both buildings on the eastern side of Petrské Square were demolished in 1937. They were replaced by a Functionalist residential building No. 1426, built to the design of V. Fürth, housing shops on its ground floor.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. AROUND 1900

527 - A view of the Church of St Peter from the north, from Biskupská Street

The Church was originally a Romanesque basilica dating to the second half of the 12th century when it was founded as the church of the German merchants who had their settlement here. The architectural history of the ecclesiastic building is rich. In the 14th to 15th centuries it was remodelled in Gothic style and extended. Following large fires in the 17th century it was remodelled in Baroque style, and in the years 1874-1879 it was again remodelled in Neo-Gothic style by J. Mocker. On the left we can see four buildings, Nos. 1139 to 1136, of which the tallest building is the St Peter vicarage, a large structure with a U-shaped plot, and with a large garden surrounded by the rear wings of houses standing in the adjacent streets: Petrská, Zlatnická, and Poříčská. The vicarage (standing on the site of the original mediaeval house) was remodelled in Neo-Gothic style in the years 1893-1894 to the plans of A. Wiehl, and the facade is decorated with sgraffiti of Czech patron saints, based on the sketches of C. Klouček of 1894. Building No. 1154 on the right dates back to the old development of the Biskupský Courtyard. In 1936 it was replaced by a new Functionalist building.

PHOTOTYPE. L. J. ČECH, AROUND 1900

528 - The passenger station of the Austrian North-Western Railway (ÖNWB) in Těšnov

Its creation dates back to 1872, to the decision to create the shortest railway link between Vienna and Děčín (and further Dresden, Berlin and Hamburg) via Znojmo and Nymburk. It was also decided to create a branch line from this main route, leading from Lysá nad Labem, via Čelákovice, to Prague. In the wake of this a competition broke out between the City of Prague and the neighbouring small town Karlín about which of them should become the terminus of this branch line. The final solution was shrewd: Prague became the terminus for passenger trains, Karlín the terminus for freight trains. The construction of the railway station in Těšnov occurred in the period 1872-1875 on the site of the former Bastion of demolished Baroque ramparts. The branch line leading to Prague, ending at Rohanský Island, was finished by 1873, at which time the construction of the Těšnov Station was only beginning. As a result, a permanent freight station and a temporary passenger railway station had to be established on the Island. On finishing the building in the picture in 1875, passenger transport was diverted here as the Těšnov Station had an advantageous position, a good connection with the centre and with the other three Prague stations. Approximately 100 metres to the south ran the first line of the horse-drawn tram system linking Karlín with Prague’s centre and further with the chain bridge at the National Theatre (and a year later also with Smíchov). In was only in 1900 that the trackage was extended from Smíchov across the Palacký Bridge and Václavské Square to Jezdecká Street, and eventually from Jezdecká Street to Těšnov, with the terminus located in front of the Railway Station. One year later even this section was electrified. The picture is also interesting because we can see in it simultaneously a horse-drawn tram and columns for the electric tram trolley wires.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. K. BELLMANN, 1900

529 - The area in front of the Těšnov Station as seen from U Ratejny Street

The monumental block of three Neo-Renaissance buildings was constructed on the triangular lot at the end of the 1880s, following demolition of the Baroque ramparts which ran through here (they ended near the Vltava mills), and which formed the eastern side of U Ratejny Street. The street continues on the left and ends in Klimentská Street. The brown building in the background is one of the mills which belonged to building No. 1221. The picture was taken prior to 1900, there are still no tram lines, and gas lighting is still in use, as is attested by one of the lindsbauer lamp-posts in the centre.

COLOURED PHOTOTYPE. K. BELLMANN, 1899

530 - The same view as in No. 529, approximately a year later

The short reign of horse-drawn trams is by now nearing its end, and they will soon be replaced by electric trams. The gas lamp-post has also disappeared, to be replaced by a Křižík arc lamp. In the background, behind the terminus of the horse-drawn trams, in front of the trees, is the bridge leading across one of the arms of the Vltava to Rohanský Island. There we can see one of the storage buildings which were a part of the freight station of the Austrian North-Western Railway. The corner building on the left, No. 1743, housed the comfortable Baroch Hotel with a café, restaurant and a beer pub of the Nusle Brewery.

PHOTOTYPE. H. SEIBT, MEISSEN, 1900

531 - The Neo-Renaissance station of the Austrian North-Western Railway as seen from the north

The Station was built to the design of K. Schlimp in the period 1872-1875. Thanks to its monumental entrance, imitating a Roman victory column with allegorical statues of Austria, Agriculture and Industry on top, it was regarded as one of the most beautiful stations of its kind in Europe. Connected with the main building housing the departure hall were two side wings consisting of four-storey buildings which housed restaurants, a richly decorated conference room, waiting rooms, offices and flats for the employees. In the years 1919-1939 it was officially called Denisovo (after the French historian and friend of the Slavs, Denis), under the Nazi occupation it was renamed Vltavské, and finally, after 1948, Těšnov once more. Unfortunately, in 1985, the Station was unceremoniously demolished as it stood in the way of the planned North-South City Arterial Road.

LACQUERED COLOURED COMBINED PRINT. D. KOSINER, 1907

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