PRAGUE, OFF THE BEATEN PATH: HOLESOVICE

  
Immediately northeast of Prague's city centre, on a peninsular formed by an extensive bend in the Vltava, is the suburb of Holešovice (to its west is Letná). This used to be one of the most important industrial areas of Prague. It is today a gritty working class suburb, which will probably give you a better representation of life in Prague, in comparison to the fairy tale-like historic city centre.

I spent 5 days in the suburb primarily to visit the modern art gallery at Veletržní Palace and, the museum exhibiting many interesting statuary - the Lapidary (Lapidárium). Unfortunately, there was not much chance of exploring the area outside the gallery and Lapidary as it poured heavily day and night for consecutive days! 

From brief journeys by cab along the main streets of Veletržní and Bubenská, it is somewhat different from the visions that we are used to where Prague is concerned. The streets are lined with mostly more modern and functional 19th and 20th century buildings. Billboards and graffiti are not uncommon.

Let's briefly have a look at several places of interest in Holešovice, namely in the west and northwest section.

At the intersection of the main streets Dukelských Hrdinů and Veletržní is the Trade Fair Palace (Veletržní Palác), a large block of concrete and glass - they call it a Functionalist building, which was built for practical reasons and little consideration for aesthetics. It is part of the National Gallery in Prague and home to modern artworks from the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition to many works by Czech artists, the gallery has a small collection of works by the top names in 19th and 20th century modern art - Klimt, Picasso, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Renoir and others. The main attraction here for several years has been Alphose Mucha's Slav Epic - a series of 20 large paintings, some of which are 20 feet high. I have blogged about the Trade Fair Palace and a selection of the art here. 

Along the street Dukelských Hrdinů are numerous early 20th century buildings with interesting neo-Renaissance facades, murals and sgrafitto style facades. There are about a dozen Art Nouveau style buildings on this street - do look out if you are interested in these. The most unique of them is at no.20.

A trio of adjacent buildings opposite Parkhotel Praha each have a historical figure painted on them (the middle being of King George of Poděbrady, the Hussite king). Parkhotel Praha, itself somewhat an icon from the Communist era, is located next to the Trade Fair Palace. Going south of the Trade Fair Palace along Dukelských Hrdinů, from the position of building no.33, you will be able to see a neo-Gothic church (Church of St. Anthony of Padua) built in 1911 and with twin towers whose roofs are similar to those of the Church of Our Lady before Týn.


Beyond the northern end of Dukelských Hrdinů is the Výstaviště Exhibition Ground (Výstaviště Praha Holešovice) where lie various recreational venues - Křižík fountain, a sea world, pyramidal venue, a multi-purpose sports hall, an amusement and luna park. The main architectural showcase here is the Industrial Palace (Průmyslový Palác), which was completed in 1891 and coinciding with Prague's jubilee exhibition for Czech innovation and technology. The building's facade is Art Nouveau, a clock tower at centre and with a structure made predominantly of steel and glass. The venue is used for all manner of exhibitions from technology to culture to tourism related.   

To the right of the Industrial Palace is a museum of statuary called the Lapidary (Lapidárium) where many wonderful original stone (and a few iron) statues and monuments are stored. These include statues from Charles Bridge, the Old Town Bridge Tower and part of a unique reddish stone fountain long removed from the Old Town Square. Some examples can be seen from my visit to the Lapidary.

Still on the Výstaviště Exhibition Ground and behind the Industrial Palace is Křižík Fountain (Křižíkova fontána) created in 1891 by Czech engineer František Křižík. The fountain was set up to be brightly lit at night powered by electricity. There have of course been tremendous improvements today compared to its early years and the fountain is equipped to produce dazzling light shows, image projections and music. Shows here are a hit with locals and, the few tourists who are in the area at night. 

Photo source: commons.wikimedia.org

West of the exhibition grounds is the Prague Planetarium, which is located in one of the largest parks in Prague, the Stromovka Park (Královská Obora), which in late medieval times was a hunting ground. This is a favourite place for families to spend time and skaters are increasingly found now. There is also a tram line running through Stromovka.

These are the the attractions on the western side of Holešovice. 




There is the eastern side, separated from the west by a railway line and a main road. The railway station here is one of the main ones in Prague and connects to other Central European cities - Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden, Vienna and Budapest.

Photo source: commons.wikimedia.org, by Vít Švajcr

The main attraction is the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art. Located on the site of an ex early 20th century industrial building complex, it was reconstructed (with some parts of the original structures preserved) to its present appearance and opened in 2008. Art exhibitions are regularly held here, there is a library and cafe. More information can be found on their website.

A huge market (Holešovická Tržnice) for produce and consumer goods, the largest in Prague, can be found on the southern end of the district along Bubenské waterfront (Bubenské nábřeží). The market may be relatively peaceful today with colourful produce and goods for sale - however, as recent as the early 1980s, it was one large bloody abattoir. The market for produce is at Hall no 22 (Hala 22) - every second Saturday is a farmer's market next to it. Best to catch a tram to and from the stop Pražská Tržnice as it is a long walk from the western part of the suburb. 

This eastern part of the suburb is being gradually re-developed, making it more liveable. There are increasing numbers of cafes, eateries and pubs, and on the eastern most end, office buildings and higher/high-end apartments are being built on the marina, providing views of the meander in the Vltava.