Although not the most gloriously sounding monument, Prague’s Obecní dům (Municipal House) is one of the city’s most important landmarks, both literally and metaphorically. Built at the start of the last century, it is a building that hails from a different era, yet one that is also profoundly modern. A stunning gem of Art Nouveau architecture with gold trimmings, murals and marble floors, it is also one of the post powerful symbols of Czech nationhood: Czechoslovakia’s independence was declared here in 1918 and, 71 years later, it was here that Václav Havel began the first earnest discussions with the Communist regime, leading to the dismantling of the totalitarian system.
Although its exterior is sometimes referred to as Neo-Baroque, the building’s key architectural style is the eclectic turn of the century mix variously known as Art Nouveau (in France), Jugendstil (in Germany) and Secessionism (in Austria and Bohemia). The building embodies an architecture that combines the sumptuous with the graceful, the chic with the suave, the reserved with the radical and the national with the multicultural.
Designed by architects Antonín Balšánek and Osvald Polívka, the Municipal House was built between 1905 and 1912, when the Czech Lands were still part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. From the very outset the building was intended to the centre of Czech cultural and social life in Prague – a monumental and representative palace that would enhance the self-confidence of a nation that did not have its own state and was merely part of a multinational empire. Fittingly, a few years after its completion – and a world war later – it became the setting for the declaration of the first independent Czechoslovak Republic on October 28, 1918.
Importantly, however, the Municipal House was not conceived as simply a monument, but rather as a flexible, multipurpose and multifunctional center, hosting social and cultural events such as concerts, exhibitions and balls, important meetings and conferences, as well as housing several restaurants and a glorious café. “We are currently trying to revive this original multifunctional aspect of the place, make it a living cultural center rather than simply a museum for tourists,” says Tomáš Vacek, Obecní dům’s current general director. Vacek was brought in a few months ago to manage the transformation of the Municipal House from a non-profit state institution into a profit-making joint-stock company.
One aspect that makes this possible is the building’s cunning internal design. Although it looks like a two-story building from the outside, seven large stories are craftily disguised within with an astounding number of sumptuous halls and parlors, including the Smetana Hall, the Moravian- Slovakian Parlor, Sladkovský Hall, the Riegr Hall, the Mayor’s Hall, Palacký Hall, Grégr Hall, Oriental Parlor (formerly also called Serbian) and the Božena Němcová Parlor (to name a few). Special attention was paid to every detail: the clocks, chandeliers, ventilation grills, heatingunit covers and elevator shaft lattices. The lighting units, made of glass and metals such as brass, copper or white brass, with different types of finish – patina, gilding, bronze or silver-plating – are also striking decorations. “We want to make full use of all these exquisite rooms and halls for all kinds of functions,” says Vacek.
Bohemia’s most important craftsmen and artists lent their hands to decorating the place, including the worldrenowned Alfons Mucha, as well as his internationally less acclaimed, but no less important, contemporaries such as Mikoláš Aleš, Jan Preisler, Josef Václav Myslbek, Max Švabinský and František Ženíšek.
Arguably, the most impressive room is the circular Mayor’s Hall, which has a privileged location above the main entrance to the building. Alfons Mucha really went to town on the intricate and complex decoration here. The entire top part of the hall is covered with murals portraying the traditions and historical roots of the Czech nation. The main ceiling painting is called “The Slavonic Concord”. Figural motives are arranged in a circle, the centre of which is dominated by the wings of a flying eagle that seems to “shield” figure representing solidarity.
But the point in the case of Obecní dům is that every room is magnificent. This is not just because they were built that way in the first place, but also due to a highly successful overhaul undertaken between 1994 and 1997. The original cost of building the Municipal House at the start of the last century exceeded six million Czech crowns, a staggering sum at the time, which put the Municipal House among the most expensive buildings in the region. Part of this sum covered modern technical equipment – the building originally had central heating, a ventilation system, electric and hydraulic lifts, a steam laundry and other conveniences, of which many are still in use. The renovation and reconstruction costs exceeded 1,700 million Czech crowns, making it the most extensive, and most expensive, reconstruction of a historical monument in the Czech Republic.
“It was a very sensitive reconstruction that aimed to restore the place to its original function. The municipal house was from the very beginning a multifunctional facility, combining cafés, restaurants and pool rooms with art exhibitions and classic music concerts,” says Vacek, who is also a lawyer with a wealth of real estate management experience working for the City of Prague. “Our aim was to combine providing a public service, a cultural program for the general public, with a more active business policy,” he explains. And he seems to be succeeding. “We reached our profit target for the current year before the first half was out. We now know that we can make the money we need to run our cultural activities. The place is living its own life.”
For anyone who frequented Obecní dům in the first half of the 1990s, with its sprawling and smoky beer hall and alternative nightclub, the revamping is admittedly on the conservative side, and it looks as if it will stay that way. Current plans include a major exhibition of the works of the popular artist Josef Lada, well known locally and abroad for his illustrations of The Good Soldier Švejk, and a show of Bohemian crown jewel replicas that will focus on the glorious past of the location – the Municipal House was built on the site of the medieval Royal Palace. It should also become the setting for international talk when the Czech Republic takes over the helm of the European Union in 2009.
