Praha-Žižkov freight railway station ( cs, nákladové nádraží Žižkov) is a railway station formerly used for

rail freight transport Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...

, located in the

Žižkov Žižkov is a cadastral district of Prague, Czech Republic. Most of Žižkov lies in the municipal and administrative district of Prague 3, except for very small parts which are in Prague 8 and Prague 10. Prior to 1922, Žižkov was an indepen ...

district of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, the capital of

Czechia The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...

. It was originally opened in 1936 and ceased operations in 2002. The station building was confirmed as a cultural monument in March 2013.

Service

The station, which was built in an area previously known as ', went into service on 1 March 1936. The buildings were designed by Karel Caivas and Vladimír Weiss, whereas Miroslav Chlumecký designed the track infrastructure. The purpose of the station was to relieve Prague city centre of freight train services. It was also used for warehousing, although the creation of a food warehouse in the district of

Strašnice Strašnice is a Districts of Prague, cadastral district in Prague. It became part of Prague on 1 January 1922. It lies mostly in the municipal and administrative district of Prague 10 while a small part is in Prague 3. The district is b ...

in 1966 reduced the demand at the station. The station's formal service ceased in 2002. The access track with a rail branching is used for a container terminal which is adjacent to the freight station building and is in service up to now.

Usage beyond 2002

Following its closure in 2002, parts of the station were leased to local businesses for use as a

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

. The station hosted the

Prague Biennale The Prague Biennale is an international art exhibition in Prague, Czech Republic, held in alternate (odd-numbered) years. It was founded in 2003 by Helena Kontova and Giancarlo Politi. It is supported by the Czech Minister of Culture and the City ...

art exhibition in June 2013. In October of the same year, the 15th edition of the annual ''

Designblok Designblok is a design festival held in Prague, Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the wes ...

'' festival was hosted there. Redevelopment plans were proposed in November 2019. As of 2021, the site is included in the database of contaminated sites in the Czech Republic and will require remediation prior to any reuse.

Cultural monument

The three-winged main station building was denoted as a national cultural monument in 2010 by the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

, a move which was quickly challenged by local government and members of the local

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parcels ...

industry including the Sekyra Group. Developers had wanted to use the area to construct a new residential area to house 15,000 people. The building's status was however secured in March 2013, with its historical, technical and architectural value among the reasons cited for its confirmed status.

Local transport

The station is served by Prague's tram network with a stop bearing the station's name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zizkov Railway stations in Prague Railway stations opened in 1936 Railway stations closed in 2002 Cultural heritage of the Czech Republic Žižkov