Czech architecture
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Czech architecture, or more precisely architecture of the Czech Republic or architecture of Czechia, is a term covering many important historical and contemporary architectural movements in
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, Moravia, and Silesia. From its early beginnings to the present day, almost all historical styles are represented, including many monuments from various historical periods. Some of them are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.


Gothic


Renaissance


Baroque


Neoclassicism

Although late Baroque in the Czech lands is mainly associated with the reign of
Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...
(1740–1780), after her death, this style was more and more often replaced by Neoclassical architecture, and ultimately by Empire style. The transition from Baroque to Neolassicism is announced by the reconstruction of Prague Castle by the Viennese architect Nicolo Pacassi. He and
Kilián Ignác 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 ...
were followed by Ignác Jan Nepomuk Palliardi, in whom the already high Baroque tradition is combined with Classicist decor. Antonín Haffenecker, another architect who went from Baroque to Classicism (
Estates Theatre The Estates Theatre or Stavovské divadlo is a historic theater in Prague, Czech Republic. The Estates Theatre was annexed to the National Theatre in 1948 and currently draws on three artistic ensembles, opera, ballet, and drama, which perform a ...
), is associated with Pacassi and
Johann Bernhard Fischer Johann Bernhard Fischer (1685, Lübeck – 1772, Hinterbergen near Riga) was a doctor of German origin in Imperial Russian service as medical adviser to the Empress Anna. Biography Fischer was brought up in Riga (now Latvia). After studying in G ...
. In the entire Austrian Empire, i.e. in the Czech lands, there were no suitable conditions for the equally successful development of classical architecture as in France or Russia. In the Czech Republic, it is difficult to find a building from the early Classicist period. The reason for the slow development was the ideals of the Enlightenment, which were more restrictive of the old than the new. During Maria Theresa's reign, compulsory schooling was introduced, which clearly contributed to the education of the empire's population. Her son, Emperor Joseph II, initiated the so-called
Josephine reforms Josephinism was the collective domestic policies of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1765–1790). During the ten years in which Joseph was the sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy (1780–1790), he attempted to legislate a series of drastic reforms ...
, during which hundreds of churches and monasteries were abolished throughout the Empire, entire orders were dissolved, and the abandoned buildings were transformed into offices, public hospitals or barracks. In Austria the
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
developed slowly, which was not strong enough to push through the changes and put an end to feudalism because it feared the atrocities that took place in revolutionary France. That's why classicism in the Czech lands was lagging behind and manifested itself sporadically in less important buildings. The evolution of Classicism from the Baroque period is quite evident, as figurative ornaments are gradually being abandoned and the richness of the ornamentation gives way to late Classicism buildings, which have been transformed into strict empire-building lines. Examples might include Duchcov Chateau,
Karlova Koruna Chateau Karlova Koruna (german: Karlskrone) is a château in the town of Chlumec nad Cidlinou in the Czech Republic. History The château was built for František Ferdinand Kinský in 1721–23. Construction was completed in time for King Charles VI's c ...
, Kynžvart Castle.


Empire style

The period of imperial style is mainly associated with the First French Empire under Napoleon I. Typical for Empire buildings are clean, regular shapes with minimal decoration, lines are straight to raw. The main feature of Empire architecture is a frequent use of characteristic columns and triangular facades of larger buildings. The most important building in the Empire style is Kačina Chotkov Castle, but also interesting are Fryštát (Lottyhaus) castle in Karviná, Boskovice, Pohansko (
Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape The Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape (also Lednice–Valtice Area or Lednice–Valtice Complex, cs, Lednicko-valtický areál) is a cultural-natural landscape complex of in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It comprises the mu ...
) and
Kostelec nad Orlicí Kostelec nad Orlicí (; german: Adlerkosteletz) is a town in Rychnov nad Kněžnou District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,100 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Koryta, Kostelecká Lhota and Kozodr ...
Castle. An interesting example of the transition from classicism to the Empire style is the new chateau in
Dačice Dačice (; german: Datschitz) is a town in Jindřichův Hradec District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,100 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. It is ...
.


Modern period


Secession

The wave of
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was significant in Czech architecture. Typical are Art Nouveau buildings, especially as private villas, hotels or public buildings (town hall, schools, crematoria), as well as several churches or castle buildings. The most important Czech architects of this period are
Antonín Balšánek Antonin, Antonín, and Antoñín are masculine given names. Antonín, a Czech name in use in the Czech Republic, and Antonin, a French name in use in France, and French-speaking countries, are both considered alternate forms of Antonino. Antoñí ...
,
Osvald Polívka Osvald Polívka (24 May 1859 in Enns – 30 April 1931 in Prague) was an Austrian-born Czech architect associated with the Art Nouveau period in Prague. Polívka designed many of Prague's significant landmarks of the era, plus other work in Brno ...
,
Josef Fanta Josef Fanta (7 December 1856 in Sudoměřice u Tábora – 20 June 1954 in Prague) was a Czech architect, furniture designer, sculptor and painter. A student of Josef Zítek, Fanta developed into one of the most prominent representatives of C ...
,
Jan Letzel Jan Letzel (April 9, 1880 – December 26, 1925) was a Czech architect, most famous for designing a building in Hiroshima whose ruins are now the A-Bomb Dome or Peace Memorial. Biography Jan Letzel was born in the town of Náchod, Bohemia. ...
,
Alfons Mucha Alfons Maria Mucha (; 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, best known for his distinctly stylized and decora ...
. Important monuments include Municipal House, Vršovice Savings Bank Building, Prague station, Brno station, Villa Bílek, Šaloun Villa,
Hotel Paris (Prague) Hotel Paris Prague ( cz, Hotel Paříž Praha) is a 5-star luxury hotel in Prague, Czech Republic. It is located in the centre of Prague in Old Town. It was built in 1904 according to plans of Jan Vejrych. Its architectural style is a mixture of A ...
,
Vinohrady Theatre Vinohrady Theatre ( cs, Divadlo na Vinohradech) is a theatre in Vinohrady, Prague. Construction began on February 27, 1905. It served as the Theatre of the Czechoslovak Army from autumn 1950 to January 1966. It contains a curtain painted by Vla ...
,
J. K. Tyl Theatre Josef Kajetán Tyl Theatre ( cs, Divadlo Josefa Kajetána Tyla) is a main theatre in Plzeň, Czech Republic. The theatre was built between 1899 and 1902 in the neo-renaissance style with some art nouveau elements to the design of Antonin Balsanek ...
, City of Prague Museum.


Cubism

Cubism appeared at the beginning of the 20th century as an avant-garde artistic movement based on completely new ideas. The term "
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...
" was first used by the French art critic Louis Vauxcelles in 1908. The principle of Cubism is based on the
spatial Spatial may refer to: *Dimension *Space *Three-dimensional space Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called ''parameters'') are required to determ ...
concept of a work of art, in which it captures objects not only from one angle but from several angles at once. The presented object has been distributed into basic geometric shapes (mainly cubes). Therefore, Cubism had to solve new problems of perspective and create new spatial relations between the objects. Three-dimensional objects created many views with unusual angles. Cubism directly or indirectly influenced the development of new artistic styles (
futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...
, constructivism, and
expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
). However, unlike other movements, Cubism had no expression in literature. It manifested itself mainly in painting, sculpture, and partly also in the architecture of the former Czechoslovakia, where it became an independent artistic style. Cubism manifested itself primarily in the fine arts (
Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
,
Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...
, Cézanne), which strongly influenced some architects, but one cannot speak of pure cubism, because of course, they had to be primarily functional. The architects working under the influence of Cubism created characteristic objects that seem a bit strange. Cubist architecture in Czechoslovakia has been operating since around 1911. In the 1920s, it developed in Prague. Its most prominent representatives gathered in the Manes Fine Arts Association. They include painters Emil Filla,
Antonín Procházka Antonín Procházka may refer to: * Antonín Procházka (painter) (1882-1945), Czech painter * Antonín Procházka (volleyball) (born 1942), Czech former volleyball player * Antonín Procházka (actor) (born 1953), Czech actor, playwright and direct ...
and Josef Čapek, sculptor
Otto Gutfreund Otto Gutfreund (3 August 1889 – 2 June 1927) also written Oto Gutfreund, was a Czechoslovak sculptor. After studying art in Prague and Paris, he became known in the 1910s for his sculptures in a cubist style. After his service in the First World ...
, architects Josef Gočár,
Josef Chochol Josef Chochol (13 December 1880, Písek – 6 July 1956, Prague) was a Czech architect. Education Chochol studied architecture at the polytechnic in Prague (1908–24), then at the academy in Vienna, under the guidance of Otto Wagner (1907 ...
,
Pavel Janák Pavel Janák (12 March 1881 in Karlín – 1 August 1956 in Prague-Dejvice) was a Czech modernist architect, furniture designer, town planner, professor and theoretician. Life Janák studied with Otto Wagner in Vienna between 1906 and 1908, and ...
, and others. The Cubist style is unique in the world and nowhere else has Cubist architecture reached such a boom as in the Czech Republic. Architects: * Josef Gočár *
Josef Chochol Josef Chochol (13 December 1880, Písek – 6 July 1956, Prague) was a Czech architect. Education Chochol studied architecture at the polytechnic in Prague (1908–24), then at the academy in Vienna, under the guidance of Otto Wagner (1907 ...
*
Pavel Janák Pavel Janák (12 March 1881 in Karlín – 1 August 1956 in Prague-Dejvice) was a Czech modernist architect, furniture designer, town planner, professor and theoretician. Life Janák studied with Otto Wagner in Vienna between 1906 and 1908, and ...
* Otakar Novotný * Vlastislav Hofman


Rondocubism

Rondocubism is an independent local formula of Czech architecture. It developed as an independent branch of the Cubist style after World War I in the newly established Czechoslovakia, where it became the national style for a short time. Rondocubism, as the name suggests, is characterized by the use of round shapes such as arches, circles, and ovals, which are based on Cubist foundations. These were to commemorate national
Slavic traditions Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...
. Rondocubism was most evident in Prague, but also in other places, especially in the form of industrial architecture. The highest buildings in the world of Rondocubism are considered to be Legiobanka by Josef Gočár and Adria Palace by
Pavel Janák Pavel Janák (12 March 1881 in Karlín – 1 August 1956 in Prague-Dejvice) was a Czech modernist architect, furniture designer, town planner, professor and theoretician. Life Janák studied with Otto Wagner in Vienna between 1906 and 1908, and ...
in Prague. Rondo-Cubism has also manifested itself in art, for example in the paintings of Josef Čapek and Objectdesign. Furniture created by
Bohumil Waigant Bohumil is a Slavic male given name. Means "favoured by God" from the Slavic elements bog ''god'' and mil ''favour''. Pronounced ''baw-huw-MIL''. Nicknames are Bob, Bobby, Bohouš, Bohoušek, Bohuš, Mila, Milek, Bogie, Boga, Bozha. Another forms a ...
and Josef Gočár is still preserved. Rondocubism in architecture tried to contain characteristic Slavic elements. The use of national colors: red and white should also help. The shapes of rondocubist buildings are usually massive, cylindrical, round, similar to annual wooden rings. The seat of the Legiobanka in Na Poříčí Street is a rondocubist monument from 1921-1923. Its facade was decorated by
Otto Gutfreund Otto Gutfreund (3 August 1889 – 2 June 1927) also written Oto Gutfreund, was a Czechoslovak sculptor. After studying art in Prague and Paris, he became known in the 1910s for his sculptures in a cubist style. After his service in the First World ...
and Jan Štursa. The stained-glass windows in the hall and decorative bricks are the work of František Kysel. The Adria Palace, built in 1925 by Pavel Janák and German architect Josef Zasch from Prague, on Jungmann Square for the Italian insurance company Riunione Adriatica di Sicurtà. The sculptural decoration is the work of Jan Štursa and Karl Dvořák. In 1926, during a conference in Prague, when the French architect
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...
saw the Adria Palace, he called it "a massive structure with an
Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...
appearance". The Rondocubist furniture in the house on Kamenická Street in
Holešovice Holešovice () is a district in the north of Prague situated on a meander of the River Vltava, which makes up the main part of the district Prague 7 (an insignificant part belongs to Prague 1). In the past it was a heavily industrial suburb; ...
is the work of Otakar Novotny.


Functionalism

Functionalist
Villa Tugendhat Villa Tugendhat is an architecturally significant building in Brno, Czech Republic. It is one of the pioneering prototypes of modern architecture in Europe, and was designed by the German architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. It w ...
is one of the most famous examples of Czech architecture of the 20th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since the 1920s, architecture has been striving for functionalism, an architectural style that primarily applies the criteria of functionality, usability and practical purpose. This direction is guided by the motto "form follows function", which in practice manifests itself in simple, sometimes even austere lines. The main representatives of this direction in the Czech lands were architects Jan Kotěra and Josef Gočár, as well as the prominent
Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Sloven ...
architect
Josip Plečnik Josip () is a male given name found among Croats and Slovenes, a cognate of Joseph. In Croatia, the name Josip was the second most common masculine given name in the decades up to 1959, and has stayed among the top ten most common ones throughout 2 ...
. He was the author of the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Prague. Another important foreign architect working in Czechoslovakia was
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...
, author of ''Villa Tugendhat''. Important monuments include: National Gallery Prague,
Baťa's Skyscraper Baťa's Skyscraper, also known as Building No. 21, is a skyscraper in Zlín, Czech Republic. It is 77.5 metres high and has sixteen floors. It was the administration building of the Bata Shoes factory, a company that was based in the city. Now it i ...
,
Tomas Bata Memorial Tomas Bata Memorial ( cs, Památník Tomáše Bati) is functionalist building in Zlín, Czech Republic built in 1933. The Memorial was designed by the Czech architect František Lydie Gahura. History Tomas Bata Memorial is the most impressive ...
,
Barrandov Terraces Barrandov Terraces (Czech: ''Barrandovské terasy'') is a complex of buildings in the southern part of Prague, Czech Republic. It is dominated by the functional view restaurant Terraces (Czech: Terasy) designed by architect Max Urban (1927-31).Kr ...
, Hus Congregational House, Agudas Achim Synagogue (Brno),
Smíchov Synagogue The Smíchov Synagogue is the only functionalist synagogue in Prague; it was reconstructed to this style in 1931. After the World War II, the building was used for secular purposes because the Smíchov Jewish community ceased to exist in the Sh ...
.


Late and postmodernism


Socialist realism

In the 1950s socialist realism (also called sorela) was required as an official style. Characteristic buildings in its spirit are the Jalta Hotel on Wenceslas Square or the
Poruba Poruba may refer to: ;Czech Republic *Poruba (Orlová), a village, now administratively a part of the town of Orlová *Poruba (Ostrava), a district of the city of Ostrava ;Slovakia *Dolná Poruba, a village in Trenčín District *Kamenná Poruba, ...
housing estate in Ostrava. A specific branch of Sorela was the so-called Stalinist neoclassicism, which represents Hotel International in Prague's Dejvice.


Brussels style

However, in the late 1950s, the new style, known as "Brussels", became popular in architecture (and of course in design), as it was presented at
Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (french: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles de 1958, nl, Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling van 1958), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Bel ...
in Brussels. It was characterized by round shapes and glass facades. A typical building in the Brussels style was the Czech Expo pavilion (no longer existing) and the building of the Czech restaurant (currently in Letná Park, Prague). Other important buildings in the Brussels style are the Z pavilion in the exhibition center in Brno, the swimming pool in Podolí and the railway station in Havířov.


Czech brutalism

In the late 1960s, the Czech version of
brutalism Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...
replaced the Brussels style. The projects of Věra Machoninová and her husband Vladimír Machonín (residential community center in Prague, Hotel Thermal in
Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...
, Kotva in Prague, the Czechoslovak embassy in Berlin) are particularly appreciated. Other buildings include the Czechoslovak embassy in London (architects Jan Bočan, Jan Šrámek and Karel Štěpánský), the Intercontinental Hotel (Karel Bubeníček and Karel Filsak), Karel Prager buildings (former Federal Assembly building, New Stage of the National Theatre). However, the most valued building of that time was a transmitter and hotel on
Ještěd Ještěd (; german: Jeschken) is the highest mountain of the Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge in the north of the Czech Republic, at . It is the symbol of the city of Liberec. On the summit is the Ještěd Tower restaurant, hotel and television tower, ...
, by
Karel Hubáček Karel Hubáček (; 23 February 1924 – 25 November 2011) was a Czech architect who designed the Ještěd Tower and hotel atop the Ještěd mountain near Liberec. Hubáček's best known work was the Ještěd Tower, which was constructed bet ...
.


Postmodern architecture

The
Dancing House The Dancing House ( cs, Tančící dům), or Fred and Ginger, is the nickname given to the Nationale-Nederlanden building on the Rašínovo nábřeží ( Rašín Embankment) in Prague, Czech Republic. It was designed by the Croatian-Czech archit ...
of Frank Gehry and Vlado Miluň in Prague, which was initiated directly by Václav Havel, is often referred to as a symbol of
post-modern architecture Postmodern architecture is a style or movement which emerged in the 1960s as a reaction against the austerity, formality, and lack of variety of modern architecture, particularly in the international style advocated by Philip Johnson and Henry- ...
. Jean Nouvel (
Golden Angel The Golden Angel ''(Czech: Zlatý Anděl)'' is an administrative complex situated in Prague. The designer was French architect Jean Nouvel. The structure is located in the immediate vicinity of The Angel Crossroad (Křižovatka Anděl) which was ...
in Prague's Smichov) or Ricardo Bofill were among the most important architects in Prague at that time. Others include the project of transforming the surroundings of the Masaryk station, which was prepared by the
Pritzker Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...
winner Zaha Hadid. Among other projects, the National Technical Library in Prague's Dejvice district received the greatest recognition. The widely discussed design of the new building of the National Library of
Jan Kaplicky Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة ...
remained only on paper. Among the successful contemporary Czech architects is
Eva Jiřičná Eva Jiřičná (born 3 March 1939) is a Czech architect and designer, active in London and Prague. She is the founder of the architectural atelier ''Eva Jiricna Architects'', operating in Britain (at first as ''Jiřičná Kerr Associates'') fro ...
, who designed, for example, the Orangery at Prague Castle, Zlín Congress Centre and other buildings abroad.


Literature and sources

* ČERNÁ, Marie. Dějiny výtvarného umění. Praha: IDEA SERVIS, 2012. . S. 91-93. * ŠAMÁNKOVÁ, Eva. Architektura české renesance. Praha: Státní nakladatelství krásné literatury a umění, 1961. * Dějiny českého výtvarného umění II/1. Academia, Praha 1989.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Czech Architecture