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Smíchov () is, since 1922, a
district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
and cadastral area of
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, the capital of the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
, and is part of Prague 5. It is on the west bank of the
Vltava The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is com ...
river.


History

It was only on 22 February 1903, that Smíchov was elevated to a city by imperial decision, and on 21 January 1904, Smíchov was granted a city coat of arms. In 1910 population of Smíchov was 51,791. After the first world war on the basis of the Act on Great Prague, Smíchov was attached to Great Prague in 1922 as part of its new urban district Prague XVI. The Ringhoffer factory, founded in 1852 by railway magnate Baron Franz Ringhoffer (1817–1873) and nationalized after World War II, was part of one of the largest industrial enterprises of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (and later of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
). The Ringhoffer Works with more than 30,000 employees played a significant role in central European economy with global relevance, exporting railway carriages, cars ( Tatra) and trucks across the world. The factory in Smíchov produced court trains and famous saloon cars for European rulers and after 1945 trams for the entire
Eastern bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
. It was moved to Zličín in the 1990s and is now operated by Siemens. The buildings were demolished and replaced by a hypermarket, two multiplex cinemas, two hotels and several other commercial structures. After the first world war the company based in Bohemia and Moravia hold strong positions in Czechoslovak heavy metal industries. Under occupation by Nazi Germany the " Ringhoffer-Tatra" concern, consisting of wagon, automobile and electro-technical factories principally in Prague-Smíchov and Studenka (wagon construction), Koprivnice (Tatra-automobiles), Kolin and Ceska Lipa, succeeded in holding together despite attempts of the Hermann-Göring-Werke to absorb it. This struggle required a certain level of cooperation with the authorities of the "Third Reich". Ringhoffer-Tatra was nationalized and dissolved after the liberation and restoration of Czechoslovakia in 1945. The last owner and general manager, Baron Hans (Hanus) Ringhoffer (1885–1946) died one year later in detention, the family was expelled without compensation. Founder of the firm was the coppersmith and inventor Franz Ringhoffer (1744–1827), native of Müllendorf (nowadays in the Austrian province of Burgenland near the Hungarian border), who arrived in Prague in 1769. He set up his workshop in the Old Town and produced brewery pans besides distillery and agrarian technical equipment. His son Joseph (1785–1847) established a hammer mill in Kamenice and extended the business by adapting it to the manufacture of special products for sugar factories and distilleries. Joseph's son Franz (II) (1817–1873), the first Baron Ringhoffer, obtained by government decree a concession for the manufacture of all categories of metal work and machinery for the whole country. He perceived the opportunity offered by railway development and started in 1852 the production of vehicles in Smichov, where he added an iron-foundry. The Works became the largest rolling-stock factory in the former Austrian Empire and then in Czechoslovakia. Between 1945 and 1989, the district contained a monument dedicated to Soviet tanks in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, which was located in Štefánik square. The monument was removed shortly after the Velvet Revolution and a new glass-and-steel building designed by French architect Jean Nouvel became a symbol of the district. An angel (''anděl'' in Czech) from
Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...
' movie '' Wings of Desire'' is etched into the glass on the façade. The local traffic hub was renamed to Anděl from Moskevská (after
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
). The Staropramen brewery is located in Smíchov. The area of the Smíchov railway station will be undergoing a major transformation, welcoming nearly 400 000 sqm of residential, administration, commercial and public space. The new development will be home to the new Smíchov Elementary school designed by Toronto-based Architecture firm Office Ou.


Demographics


Education

The '' Lycée Français de Prague'', the French international school, is in Smíchov.Contact
" '' Lycée Français de Prague''. 12 January 2003. Retrieved on 20 February 2015. "Adresse du lycée : Drtinova 7 - 150 00 Praha 5 Smichov"


In popular culture

* 1995 – an escalator scene from Svěrák's '' Kolya'' was shot in Smíchov. * 1999 – Vladimír Michálek's movie ''Angel Exit'' featured among others the half built Jean Nouvel building, the abandoned Jewish synagogue, the half-demolished ''Ringhoffer'' factory, St Wenceslas Church and the Bertramka cemetery.


People

* Karl Egon Ebert, poet * Moses Porges von Portheim, a Jewish mayor * (1817–1873), baron, founder of the factory, mayor of Smíchov * Ivan Puluj (1845–1918), a Ukrainian physicist and inventor, a professor (1884–1916) and a rector (1888–1889) of the Higher Technical School in Prague (German part) * Rayko Daskalov (1886–1923), Bulgarian agrarian politician, was assassinated by an Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) associate in Smíchov *
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...
, former United States Secretary of State (January 23, 1997 – January 20, 2001), first female to hold the post


See also

* Dětský Island * Railway line Prague-Smíchov–Hostivice


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smichov Districts of Prague Cadastral territories in Prague