Café Slavia

Café Slavia is a café in Prague, Czech Republic, located on the corner of Národní street and Smetanovo nábřeží, next to the Vltava river and opposite the National Theatre.

The Lažanský palace

The monumental Neo-Renaissance palace for Count Prokop Lažanský was built between 1861 and 1863. Its architectural style was inspired by Neo-Renaissance buildings in Vienna. It was one of the last palace constructions in Prague designed from the outset as a combination of a representative aristocratic residence, a rental apartment building, and administrative spaces. The four-wing, three-story building with two courtyards was constructed by Prague builder František Havel. Between 1863 and 1869, composer Bedřich Smetana also lived and worked there. The laying of the foundation stone of the National Theatre in 1868, and its subsequent opening in 1881, influenced the further history of the building.

The opening of the Cafe Slavia

In 1881, the well-known Prague tradesman Václav Zoufalý obtained a permit to operate a café business in the vacant ground-floor premises of the palace, where he established two interconnected café rooms. In 1882, a café named ''Nová Slavia'' (New Slavia) was opened in the palace, its name inspired by the ideas of Czech national consciousness and Pan-Slavism. In 1883, the café was further enhanced and received a new entrance portal. It was ceremoniously reopened on August 30, 1884, under the name ''Café Slavia''.

Throughout its history, the café underwent numerous renovations. In 1912, the café's tenant Rudolf Mužík rented additional rooms adjacent to Divadelní Street, and builder A. Blecha designed and carried out the removal of several partition walls to unify the interior space. The exterior windows were fitted with awnings. A major Art Deco-style renovation was carried out in 1932 by Václav Fišer and his nephew Jaroslav Štěrba, in collaboration with architect Oldřich Stefan. The renovated Slavia, featuring marble and wood-paneled walls, leather booths, large mirrors, and round tables, became a jewel of Prague’s café culture.

A key transformation included not only the demolition of the remaining internal walls and partitions, but also the installation of large windows that opened up spectacular views of the Prague panorama and further visually connected the café patrons with the life on the street. The café introduced its famous coat-lifts, effective mechanical ventilation, and hygienic restrooms. The café's space was also extended to include what is now the Parnas area. The painting representing Slavia, the mother of the Slavs—after whom the café is named—was transferred to the City Gallery's collection and replaced with Viktor Oliva’s iconic painting of ''The Absinthe Drinker''.

Famous visitors of the Café Slavia

The café was traditionally frequented by actors, music composers, and theatre directors. Among its guests were Antonín Dvořák, Jindřich Mošna, Jaroslav Kvapil, Karel Hašler, Karel Hugo Hilar, Jiří Voskovec and Jan Werich, and later also Karel Höger, Alfred Radok, Ladislav Pešek, Rudolf Hrušínský, Jana Hlaváčová, and Dana Medřická. Many of the popular short stories by the duo Miloslav Šimek and Jiří Grossmann were created at Café Slavia. Poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke regularly spent time in the café.

In the 1920s, the famous Russian writer Marina Tsvetaeva also grew fond of the café, stopping there on her way from the editorial offices of the magazine ''Will of Russia''. She was often accompanied by other Russian émigré writers, such as Arkady Timofeyevich Averchenko, Yevgeny Nikolayevich Chirikov, and Alexey Mikhailovich Remizov.

During the long German occupation in World War II, social life dwindled, and the café in the Lažanský Palace stagnated. Masaryk Embankment was renamed Heydrich-Ufer, and Národní Avenue became Victoriastrasse. Café Slavia was renamed ''Kaffee Viktoria u. Konditorei''.

After liberation in 1945, the café returned to its original name, ''Slavia''. In 1948, it was nationalized. Nevertheless, its lively social and cultural atmosphere remained strong. From the late 1940s to the 1960s, Prague became a refuge and meeting place for leftist writers from all over the world. Jorge Amado, Pablo Neruda, Nâzım Hikmet, Roque Dalton, Nicolás Guillén, Alfredo Varela, Muhammad Mahdi Al-Jawahiri, and Gabriel García Márquez met here with their Czech counterparts, such as Jan Drda, Vítězslav Nezval, Marie Majerová, and others. Many of these gatherings took place right in Café Slavia. Over the years, the café was also popular among artists like Jiří Kolář, Jan Zrzavý, and Kamil Lhoták, as well as film directors such as Miloš Forman, Jiří Menzel, Věra Chytilová, and Emir Kusturica.

In the 1950s and during the normalization period after 1968, the café became a meeting point for the Czechoslovak dissident intelligentsia. Among its visitors were not only future president Václav Havel, but also Václav Černý, Jaroslav Seifert, Ludvík Vaculík, Bohumil Hrabal, and Josef Škvorecký. In addition to Charter 77, the petition ''A Few Sentences'' was also signed at the café. .

The café was closed in 1992 due to a legal dispute but re-opened in 1997. Café Slavia has been described as Prague's "best-known café".

References

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Coffeehouses and cafés in the Czech Republic
1884 establishments in Austria-Hungary
Restaurants in Prague

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