Prague's Zizkov is a distinctive district with the largest concentration of pubs in the Czech Republic

Prague's Zizkov is a distinctive district with the largest concentration of pubs in the Czech Republic

I remember the time when the square of George of Poděbrady, which forms a natural divide between Vinohrady and Žižkov, seemed desolate and if not for the monumental church, no one would pay much attention to it.

Today, life pulsates here day and night. Cafes, bistros and wine bars are spread side by side, and farmers' markets are held several times a week.

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I like that buying groceries is actually just a transparent excuse for many to meet friends or family for breakfast, snack or lunch. Markets thus regain their original significance, because in addition to barter trade, they have long served primarily as a meeting place where neighbors exchanged information and gossip.

Neighboring gossip gradually replaced other communication channels. Newspapers first, followed by radio and television. And so that people can indulge in information and entertainment to the fullest, the dominant feature of the district was created - the Žižkov Tower.

The 216-meter-high television transmitter was built between 1985 and 1992 according to the plans of architects Václav Aulický and engineers Jiří Kozák and Alex Bém. The futuristic-looking structure consisting of three cylindrical steel tubes took precedence over the other nineteen designs.

The location in Mahlerovy sady was also strategically chosen to guarantee the widest possible coverage while standing off the air routes. The main tube, which contains two high-speed elevators, passes into the antenna extension.

At a height of ninety-three meters, there are three viewing platforms, from which visitors can see up to a distance of one hundred kilometers in good weather. The building is impressive, especially at night, when it is illuminated.

The evening class actually suits the whole of Žižkov, which comes to life. There are dozens of places to meet in Žižkov, and it is deservedly referred to as the location with the highest concentration of pubs in the country.

Although the locals complain that the classic ones are gradually disappearing, I would not panic. On the way down the hill to Vítkov hill and the tunnel that leads to Karlín, it is not a problem to come across honest fours and smoother hangouts.

In Sadu. A pub on Škroup Square is a typical place where they do not tolerate selected dining, but they will give you well-chilled beer and honest Czech specialties. Not only thanks to the original decoration, the place has a unique atmosphere.

Pražský Žižkov je svérázná čtvrť s největší koncentrací hospod v Česku

Legendary is, for example, Pivnice U Sadu, which I went to twenty years ago. I don't feel that much has changed in that time. Perhaps in addition to electronic cash registers, a payment terminal and a menu. It has expanded significantly and you can choose from it even long after midnight. The kitchen goes to the closing room.

The neighboring company U Kurelů in Chvalova Street, which was founded in 1907, is also worth a visit. It was visited not only for the golden drink, but also for entertainment in the form of theater performances, poetry readings and dancers.

During the communist era, when it was called U Pošty, the court photographer Václav Havel Bohdan Holomíček was one of the loyal customers, and it is his photographs from the same period that decorate the contemporary interior.

The company also boasts a somewhat more delicate leadership. In the mid-1990s, the very first event called Topless took place here. It is said that there was a queue for the naked staff every Wednesday for several years. However, you will now search in vain for a relaxed morality in him.

The story captures the contemporary Žižkov, in which tradition mixes with modernity. That's why cocktail bars, packed to the brim with young people, work here so well, as well as dens, in which there are regular technicians, punks and skinheads. It is no coincidence that the Abyss club, later the Base, where the post-revolutionary subcultural scene was formed, also operated in the alleys below the television tower.

The Acropolis Palace, which is housed in a corner house built in the late 1920s and hides a multifunctional hall, also has a café on its ground floor.

During the First Republic, the hall was used mainly for drama, during the war as a cinema, socialist comrades preferred practicality and made the underground space a warehouse, and the café was replaced by a folk dining room. The place came to life again in the early 1990s, and people have not stopped coming here for cultural activities.

Zizkov is a distinctive district. Once upon a time, instead of tenement houses, vines grew on the territory, so in the middle of the 19th century it was renamed Královské Vinohrady. It was later divided into two parts, Královské Vinohrady and Žižkov. In 1881, Žižkov was promoted to a city by Emperor Francis Joseph I. Both villages joined Greater Prague in 1922.

Bohemian retro. In the tangle of Žižkov streets, you can come across more than one original store. In Chvalova Street, the energetic American Rebecca sells things that her grandmothers carry from her lockers and secretaries. You can buy second-hand clothes, furniture or household accessories here.

While Vinohrady gradually turned into a prominent district, manual workers and the socially weaker moved to Žižkov, and later Roma from remote parts of socialist Czechoslovakia were also evicted here in an organized manner.

At the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, the anointed communist heads began to rehabilitate old Žižkov in favor of a modern city with towers to the clouds. Fortunately, the rich plan did not work out because it was thwarted by the Velvet Revolution.

Maybe that's why we managed to keep the atmosphere of the neighborhood together to this day. he dares to enter, even in pubs where bricklayers meet pensioners, students and managers. And among them, there are shops focused on selected and organic goods, as well as a hairdresser or beauty salon.

And then there are the Hussites and Konev's full of pawn shops. Just below the hill named after the owner of the local vineyard Vítek z Hory is the immortal hangout U Vystřelenýho oka. Its colorful interior combined with a quick, albeit somewhat sharper service and rich cultural program rarely lets one leave before midnight.

And just a few steps away is the oldest local inn U Slovanské lípy. Not far from it is a shop where a patriot can buy a T-shirt or sweatshirt with the inscription I Love Žižkov. However, one is already one foot in neighboring Karlín.

Luxury apartment in Žižkov transmitter

November 20, 2012

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