Dům odborových svazů (House of Trade Unions)

House of Trade Unions

Dům odborových svazů (House of Trade Unions), the former Všeobecný penzijní ústav (General Pensions Institute), is one of the view points of náměstí Winstona Churchilla (Winston Churchill Square) of the Prague´s quarter Žižkov. Discover the place where in the past a noted Prague gasworks used to be.

Pražská obecní plynárna (Prague Municipal Gasworks):
Dům odborových svazů (House of Trade Unions) was built in place of the former Pražská obecní plynárna (Prague Municipal Gasworks) . The gasworks started to supply gas lighting for Prague on September 16th, 1867 and thus became one of the most important institutions of its kind. Right here in náměstí Winstona Churchilla (Winston Churchill Square) the first hot air balloon flights took place. However, the Žižkov gasworks was pulled down due to modernization process and the first Prague skyscraper was raised in its place – the palace of Všeobecný penzijní ústav (General Pensions Institute).

Všeobecný penzijní ústav (General Pensions Institute)
In 1929, the pension insurance act was issued and so a decision was taken to build a completely new building which would serve this purpose. It took long to find a suitable location where the institute should stand and after long-lasting considerations a place located very close to the Prague centre was selected. Náměstí Winstona Churchilla (Winston Churchill Square) was determined to become its domiciliary place. The construction of Všeobecný penzijní ústav was performed under the direction of the architects Josef Havlíček and Karel Honzík.

The construction with a cross layout was fragmented and designed according to the slope of the plot. It was exceptional for that period that the northern and western wings were designed to have eight storeys, the eastern and southern even thirteen. The construction works of Všeobecný penzijní ústav started exactly on April 1st, 1932. The ceremonious opening took place two years later. The construction of the institute was unique not only because of its appearance but also due to the costs which exceeded more than sixty millions of the contemporary crowns.

Dům odborových svazů (House of Trade Unions):
Dům odborových svazů is tiled by small, light, ceramic plates. Due to the small plates the building got a nickname kachlíkárna (tile house). There are about seven hundred offices behind the walls of Kachlíkárna. It is equipped by a sophisticated ventilation system and it is also interesting that the windows have steel construction. From 1951 the functionalist building was used by Ústřední rada odborů (Central Trade Union Council), later by Revoluční odborové hnutí (Revolutionary Trade Union Movement), and currently it is the residence of Českomoravská konfederace odborových svazů (Bohemian-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions.

A curiosity
In the past, so-called Krocínova kašna (Krocín´s Public Fountain) used to stand in Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square) in Prague. It was incorporated into the gasworks foundations during its construction. After the gasworks had been pulled down the remains of the fountain were discovered again.

Address:
Náměstí Winstona Churchilla
Praha 3 – Žižkov – 130 00

Transport connection:
Tram: 5, 9, 26, 55, 58 – Husinecká station
Bus: 135 – Náměstí Winstona Churchilla station
Metro: B, C – Florenc

Transport connection:
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GPS: 50°5’3.516″N, 14°26’33.572″E

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