Remarkable Architecture in the Vrsovice District of Prague

The Vrsovice district in Prague is not at the top of your what-to-see-in-Prague list. It is a residential area with four remarkable buildings, worth to have a closer look at. A short self-guided walk takes you to all four buildings, a must if you want to see a residential area in Prague.

Self-guided City Walk Vrsovice

1. 4D business center, a kaleidoscope of colours
2. Justice Building, the largest judicial complex in the Czech Republic
3. St. Wenceslas Church functionalist architecture
4. Koh-i-Noor an abandoned factory

These four remarkable buildings are within walking distance of each other. Take tram 22 to the Koh-i-Noor stop where the walk starts and ends

Walking directions:
1. Cross the tram track keeping Koh-i-Noor on your left. You are now on Vrsovicka Street
2. Take the third street on the left Kodanska with 4D Center
3. Continue to the intersection and turn sharp right 28. Pluku and the Justice Building at number 29
4. Walk back to the intersection and take the first street on the left Tolsteho and the St. Wenceslas Church
5. Walk straight ahead and you are back at Koh-i-Noor

4D Business Center a Kaleidoscope of Colours

The 4-D Center is an eye-catcher. Until 2004, this building was dull and drab, typical of Communist architecture. Today, it is the most colourful building in the district.

The French-Israeli artist Yaac Agam (1928) used a total of three hundred colours and conjured up the perfect illusion of a multi-dimensional rainbow radiating on the building. Agam is considered the “father of kinetic art”.

The complex consists of three connected buildings. The colouring of the large main building represents the beauty and magic of spring and hidden energy.

The colours of the building on the north side are warm hues and represent the feeling of energy and summer.

The colours of the building on the other side represent the feeling of winter with a smooth transition of cool bluish hues.

Address: Kodanska 46

Court of Justice at 28. Pluku Street

Justiční areál Na Míčánkách (JAM) is a block of buildings at 28. Pluku Street and the largest judicial complex in the Czech Republic. It consists of three historic buildings of former barracks, now converted into one new building.

28. Pluku means the 28th regiment. This Hapsburg regiment was stationed here at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. (The Czech Republic was then part of the Hapsburg Empire).

This building complex is an eye-catcher because of its size and salmon-coloured and yellow facade. It comprises 98 judicial courts, 38 interrogation rooms, 30 detention cells, an information office, archive rooms, study rooms for viewing files, a specialized library and a canteen for employees.

Address: 28. Pluku 29

St-Wenceslas Church

The eye-catcher of St. Wenceslas Church is the rectangular bell tower. The church is a striking example of functionalist architecture and was designed by the Czech Josef Gočár.

The construction is of reinforced concrete and the interior is without pillars or other supporting elements. The architect made clever use of the sloping terrain and built a terraced semi-circular choir.

St. Wenceslas Church (Kostel sv. Václava) is a Roman Catholic Church built in 1930 to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of St. Wenceslas’ death.

Address: náměstí Svatopluka Čecha

Koh-i-Noor Factory

The haberdashery company Koh-i-Noor was founded in 1902 by the Jewish brothers Jindřich and Sigmund Waldes and became especially famous for its metal press studs. The factory in Vršovice, a state-of-the-art building at the time, started the production in 1907.

The snap was named after the world’s largest diamond: koh-i-noor. The company logo shows a woman with a koh-i-noor snap instead of an eye.

The factory building is no longer used. The historic part of the building is a cultural heritage monument and will be preserved. New apartment buildings will be built on the factory site, several of which have already been completed.

Address: Vrsovicka 51

Related article
What to do and see in Vrsovice

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photos Marianne Crone

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