Invalidovna (French ''"hôtel des invalides"'') is a building in Karlín, a district of Prague.

History

Invalidovna was built in 1731–1737 as a dormitory for war invalids (veterans) by

Kilian Ignac Dientzenhofer Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer ( cs, Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer) (1 September 1689, Prague – 18 December 1751) was a Bohemian architect of the Baroque era. He was the fifth son of the German architect Christoph Dientzenhofer and the Bohemian-Ger ...

. Its model was

Les Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...

, a building for veterans inaugurated in Paris in 1679. Only a ninth of the original design was ever completed. At most, about 1,200 inmates lived there. In 1935, all inhabitants moved to another "invalidovna", at Hořice, and the building was used by the Czech army. After this, it was used as an army archive. The building was damaged by a large flood in 2002, and most of the archive materials were destroyed. The building currently awaits an expensive reconstruction. One possible future use is as an open space for culture and social life.

In popular culture

The Invalidovna complex has served as a filming location for several notable movies, including the 1984 American drama film Amadeus directed by

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...

, and

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...

's 2004 film Hellboy. In 2023, Robert Eggers chose Invalidovna as one of the filming locations for his new adaptation of Nosferatu, a modern interpretation of the classic vampire tale.

Transport

The metro station

Invalidovna Invalidovna (French ''"hôtel des invalides"'') is a building in Karlín, a district of Prague. History Invalidovna was built in 1731–1737 as a dormitory for war invalids (veterans) by Kilian Ignac Dientzenhofer. Its model was Les Invalides, ...

is named after this building.

References

{{authority control Baroque architecture in the Czech Republic Buildings and structures in Prague Archives in the Czech Republic 1730s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire