Prague Suburbs

Trail Starts Here: Havlíčkova 292
First object: The Agrarian Bank
Jindřich Freiwald, Jaroslav Böhm, 1939
Public transport: Muzeum (BUS 12, 13, 16, 17; TROLEJBUS 3, 4, 7)
GPS: 50.211849, 15.827107, stáhnout GPX nebo KML
Lenght of trail: 2,6 KM, 45 min
5

Due to the construction of railroads in the second half of the 19th century, new industrial areas started to be built to the west of the historical centre of Hradec Králové, in Prague Suburbs, which gradually became a wealthy township. The trail begins at Tyrš Bridge designed by Josef Gočár, continues to the unique avant-garde multi-level garages of 1932 and leads to Baťkovo náměstí Square. There you can see Mr Hanuš’s tenement house and the Start Hotel, two examples of urban architecture from before WWI. The block of houses across Karla IV. Street evokes the industrial character of the neighbourhood. Karel Skuherský’s furniture factory and office house and the houses of his employees used to be in this area as well. Opposite, there is the Art Nouveau villa built by Robert Schmidt, one of the leading constructors of modern buildings in Hradec Králové. Behind the villa, the multifunctional civic house was gradually built, followed by the construction of the LIDO BIO cinema in 1912 and the reconstruction and extension of the civic house in the late 1920s. Opposite, there is Karel Vlček’s house, designed by Josef Fňouk and Václav Placák. The very progressive house features a glass tower. The dominant of Prague Suburbs can be found in today’s 28. října Square – the Church of the Sacred Heart of the Lord designed by architect Bohumil Sláma. It demonstrates the efforts of the Catholic Church to build modern sanctuaries, and according to the contemporary sources, it was the first modern church in Czechoslovakia. Around the corner, there is the former town hall of Prague Suburbs, suggesting the former boom of the township and the desire for modern representation of the area. From there, we can get to the monumental train station building designed by Jan Rejchl and his brother Václav Rejchl, Jr. The large station building with a tower was supposed to represent the importance of Hradec Králové as “the capital” of the Czechoslovak railways – due to the decentralization of institutions, the Directorate of the Czechoslovak Railways moved to this city. The trail ends at the functionalist office and residential building of the bakers’ cooperative, which used to include a large bakery, silos, warehouses, and garages.