Elementary and Town Schools

School buildings held a prestigious position in the architectural hierarchy of the second half of the 19th century, and their design was considered a matter of distinction for architects. Schools were established with great pomp as new ‘palaces of learning’ and ‘shrines of wisdom,’ most often in the Neo-Renaissance style, which referenced the era of humanism and was therefore deemed the most appropriate for educational institutions. While architectural attention was primarily focused on town (secondary) schools—whose establishment was a higher priority for cities—elementary schools were also housed in imposing buildings. Elementary and town schools in Hradec Králové were no exception. Following the construction of the Imperial and Royal Higher Secondary School and the Locksmith School, these new school buildings became the third grand educational structure built on the site of the demolished fortress walls. At the same time, they were the first new school buildings constructed during the tenure of Mayor František Ulrich. 

The plot designated for construction was located on the corner of Pospíšilova třída Street and Šimkova Street (then known as Na Příkopě Street), a relatively busy yet visually prominent site. The selection of this location indicates that the city prioritized urban planning over ministerial regulations, which explicitly recommended that school buildings be situated on open land in a healthy environment, away from noisy traffic and roads or at least include a projecting garden. The project was entrusted to the city’s chief engineer, Tomáš Suhrada, who had already demonstrated his capabilities in designing the Locksmith School, and local contractor Václav Bahník. 

 

The two-story building is designed with an H-shaped floor plan, with wings of unequal length extending along the adjacent streets. Its most striking features are the widened corners, which are crowned with high hipped roofs. The longer wing, facing Pospíšilova třída Street, is further distinguished by a wide central bay, topped with a balustrade attic and bearing the inscription: ‘Hradec Králové to Its Youth.’ The two-story connecting wing also features a protruding bay, which houses a gymnasium on the ground floor and the elevated Chapel of St. Aloysius spanning the first and second floors. The façade is richly adorned with sculptural decoration, most notably the distinctive bossage covering the entire ground floor level, as well as triangular pediments above the entrances and first-floor window.

 

The building’s layout follows a modern two-aisle design, where rooms are arranged on only one side of the corridor, in contrast to the earlier three-aisle arrangements, which featured a central corridor with classrooms on both sides. Šimkova Street wing housed ten classrooms for the boys’ elementary and future town school, while Pospíšilova třída Street wing contained seventeen classrooms for the girls’ elementary and town school, including a drawing room and space for handicrafts, as well as a kindergarten, which occupied two classrooms with a playroom on the ground floor. In addition to cabinet spaces, three staff rooms, and three director’s offices, the building included apartments for the director and administrator. Shared facilities for all schools included the gymnasium, the chapel (later converted into the so-called upper gymnasium), and a social hall located in the central part of the building. 

 

The building also included a garden, which was put into operation in 1899. A small park was originally planned for the corner area in front of the main façade, featuring a statue of Ladislav Jan Pospíšil, a former deputy burgomaster. However, this plan was never realized, and the monument was not erected until 1933 at the edge of Žižkovy sady Gardens.

 

From 1936 onward, the schools were named Prof. Drtina Elementary and Town Schools in Hradec Králové. The abbreviated names Drtina Elementary and Town Schools or Dr. Fr. Drtina’s Schools were also commonly used, commemorating the philosopher and professor František Drtina. After WWII, the building housed several schools, including an auxiliary school. In 1950, a statue of Božena Němcová, created by Josef Václav Škoda in 1941, was installed in front of the façade.

 

It was not until 1983 that the entire complex officially became the seat of the grammar school—first known as the Grammar School in Pospíšilova třída Street, and since 1991, as the Božena Němcová Grammar School. Between 1984 and 1987, the interior was extensively modified to accommodate the school's needs, particularly in the Šimkova Street wing, where new lecture halls and specialized classrooms were added. Further modifications took place between 1992 and 1995, when a new entrance area was constructed on the corner according to a design by Jiří Kodýtek. To preserve the visual integrity of the façade, cloakrooms were built below ground level, and the walkable roof of the entrance area created a small ‘academic piazzetta,’ providing barrier-free access to the building.

 

AW