Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Halfway between náměstí Míru and the Olšanské cemeteries,
náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad
is
Vinohrady's second square after náměstí Míru. Dominating the centre of the park-like space
isPrague'smostcelebratedmodernchurch,
NejsvětějšíhoSrdcePáně
,builtin1928byJosip
It's a marvellously eclectic and individualistic work, employing a sophisticated potpourri of
architectural styles: a Neoclassical pediment and a great slab of a clock tower with a giant
transparent face in imitation of a Gothic rose window, as well as the bricks and mortar of
contemporary Constructivism. Plečnik also had a sharp eye for detail; look out for the little
gold crosses inset into the brickwork like stars, inside and out, and the celestial orbs of light
suspended above the heads of the congregation. If you can track down the priest, it may just
be possible to climb the clock tower.
Husův sbor (Hussite Church)
Dykova 1 • 222 519 677,
hs-vinohrady.cz
• Tram #10 or #16 to Vinohradská vodárna
The
Husův sbor
, three blocks south of náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad, along U vodárny, stands
on the corner of Dykova. Built in the early 1930s by Pavel Janák, the church's most salient
feature is its freestanding hollow tower, which encloses a corkscrew spiral staircase and is
topped by a giant copper chalice, symbol of the Hussite faith. A memorial on the wall com-
memorates the church's pioneering role in the Prague Uprising against the Nazis in May
1945, when it served as a Czech resistance headquarters.
Sv Václav
Náměstí Svatopluka Čecha • 271 742 523 • Tram #4 or #22 to Čechovo náměstí
The
church of sv Václav
, built in 1930 by Josef Gočár, is an uncompromising functionalist
structure that forms the severe centrepiece of a sloping green square. The main feature is the
slender, smoothly rendered 80m-high tower topped with a plain cross. Up to the base leads a
distinctive stepped roof, the entire structure gleaming toothpaste white and often lit up after
dark.
Žižkov
Though they share much the same architectural heritage,
ŽIŽKOV
, unlike neighbouring
Vinohrady, is a traditionally working-class area, and its status as a Communist Party strong-
hold between the wars earned it the nickname “Red Žižkov”. Nowadays its peeling turn-of-
the-twentieth-century tenements are home to an ethnically diverse community, and it boasts
more pubs and brothels per head than any other district in Prague. The main reason for ven-
turing onto Žižkov's grotty streets is to visit its two landmarks - ancient (
Žižkov Hill
) and
modern (the
TV tower
) - and the city's main
cemeteries
, at the eastern end of Vinohradská.
