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The Straka Academy – Czech Republic Goverment Office
Do you wonder about the name of the building you walk along on the left Vltava´s embankment in the Lesser Town? Do you want to know who resides here or what makes the building so interesting? We are pleased to help you solve this problem and introduce the activities and history of the Prague Straka Academy to you.
Signpost: Straka Academy
The primary purpose
The academy building grew in these quarters between 1891 – 1896 based on the projects and plans of the architect Václav Roštlapil. Originally, the building was used as a student´s hostel, especially for poor sons of Bohemian noble families. The premises of the academy also involve a garden (besides the main building), which was founded thanks to František Thomayer.
Signpost Prague 1: HERE
The history of the current Government Office
First of all we should explain where the name of the building comes from. The Straka Academy was named after an imperial privy counsellor Earl Petr Straka of Nedabylice. Earl Straka left a great part of his property for the purpose of founding the academy for not quite rich male noble descendants in 1710. From these financial means scholarships were provided and the educational institution came into the existence by the end of the 19. century.
The construction
The design of the building was the work of a significant architect Václav Roštlapil. Then the construction works started. The previous Jesuit garden was chosen to be the right place. A complex of buildings with the total area of 4000 square metres with a garden with another 17 000 square metres grew within 5 years in there.
Should we just after the finishing of the works look inside we could see the study rooms, administrative offices of the academy, further the reception room and the cabinets with large collections of learning utilities in the ground floor. The two top floors were reserved for students. The study rooms, dormitories and a domestic chapel could be found there. Surprisingly, there wa
s even central heating in the building and the students could use a spa with a swimming pool, the premises also involved both summer and winter gyms and a fencing room, too. You could even find a hospital in the premises, too.
Development of the Academy
After the Academy operated for two years a Czech-German Gymnasium was founded here, too. In the period of WW1 the Academy fell under the organization of the Red Cross. The Red Cross founded a hospital in the premises with the capacity of 470 beds. The main assembly hall of the Straka Academy turned into a giant operating theatre and the higher floors were occupied by patients instead of students.
The hospital was cancelled in 1918. The independent Czechoslovakia was founded at that time and the new republic used the premises of the academy for offices and state needs. The institutions of the Civil Services were moved into the complex, namely the Ministry of Supply, Ministry of National Defension and the Statistical Office. The Central Association of the Czechoslovak students founded the academic library, all student archive and later the Academic house in the remaining part of the building. The building turned into the residence of the protectorate government after the formation of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
Signposts all Monuments: HERE
After WW2 the building served for the purposes of the government again. At that time the Office of the Prime Minister moved into the building with the first Czech after-war Prime Minister Zdeněk Fierlinger. The Czech Government Office has been residing in the building of the Academy since 1993.
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Photo Gallery:
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Contact:
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Address:
Nábřeží Edvarda Beneše 4/128
Praha 1 – Malá Strana
Connection:
Tram: 8, 12, 51, 56 – Malostranská
Bus: l3 – Malostranská
Subway(Underground, Metro() – Line A, Malostranská station
GPS: 50°5′30.69″N, 14°24′40.51″E
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Map:
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načítám mapu - prosím čekejte...
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DOWNLOAD: Tourist Guide in the Area
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Tourist guide PRAGUE CITY LINE - Prague 1 (7,0 MiB, 19 017 hits)
Prague 1 still belongs to one of the most attractive parts of the whole Prague. Probably nowhere else you can find such a concentration of historic monuments and places where the history and romance of bygone times are all around you. Hardly anywhere you can walk on the same paths where were walking Franz Kafka, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the Golem of Prague.
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