walk through prague 3: lower žižkov

Route description 
 

Length of second stage: approx. 4 km 
 

You will be guided by individual panels describing the place and its surroundings, interesting moments from its history and present, with accompanying captioned documentary images. The educational trail titled “Most Interesting Places in Prague 3 and Changes in the 19th and 20th Centuries”, compiled by Prague 3 City Hall, provides a comprehensive outline of urbanism, it evolution and character, key changes in building development, and the related prominent personalities and events. 
You can start the second part of this easy walk, although it will be uphill and downhill at times, at the bottom of Husitská Street, but it’s fine to start elsewhere or split the walk. The panels are not numbered and are not in any particular order. They are arranged here so that you do not miss any of them. 

→ 1 Husitská  

One of the backbone streets of Žižkov (today’s Husitská Street and the adjacent Hartigova Street) was called Horská cesta (Mountain Road) or Vídeňská cesta (Vienna Road) in the past because of its direction towards Kutná Hora. It was along this road that the first houses designed by Karel Hartig began to be built in 1866-1869, on the sites of former farmsteads and fields. This laid the foundations for Žižkov as a new Prague suburb. The buildings here are among the oldest in Žižkov and, along with the varied surrounding hilly terrain, create the unique atmosphere of so-called “old” or “lower” Žižkov. If you approach Husitská Street from the railway viaduct, you will notice a striking loggia with Ponec  sign at the beginning of Husitská Street on the right. František Ponec opened the former biograph in a preserved production halls in 1910. Together with the neighbouring Classicist building – a preserved section of the Miranka farmstead and brick chimney – it is protected as a cultural monument. On the left, at the corner of Trocnovská Street, is another former farmstead – Hrabovka. The Baroque vineyard estate has stood here since 1730 and is the oldest residential building in Žižkov. On the left, at the end of U Památníku Street, the Functionalist building of the Army Museum built in 1927-1931 catches the eye. Its architect was Jan Zázvorka, who also designed the nearby Národní Památník (National Memorial). Located at 7 Husitská Street is an important public building of the former municipal spa. The large Neoclassical building was opened in 1903 and offered a large swimming pool for 60 people, 2 additional pools, steam baths and massage and inhalation rooms. The second floor was occupied by 17 bathtubs. The building, now in deplorable condition, served its purpose until the late 20th century, by which point it had become a strip club. Just behind the building, the street is spanned by the Vysoká Hrabovka bridge, a remnant of the Vítkov railway line which now serves as a popular cycling trail to Vítkov. 

→ Orebitská → 2 Kostnické náměstí  

This two-level square has always (since 1889) been named Kostnické náměstí (Konstanz 

Square), in memory of Master Jan Hus, who was burnt to death in the German town of Konstanz on 6 July 1415. Not far from here, at 5 Štítného Street, is the famous Jára Cimrman Žižkov Theatre. 

One of the phenomena of this part of Žižkov are the veranda houses, hallmarks of mass rental housing of the 19th century. The oldest preserved self-contained development consisting largely of veranda houses is located in the area defined by Kostnické náměstí Square, Havlíčkovo náměstí Square, Husitská Street and Rokycanova Street. Most of the houses, built in the last third of the 19th century, were no more than three storeys high. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, these buildings were often extended by up to two additional storeys. They had underground cellars and small shops and craft workshops on the ground floor, while the above-ground floors were used for apartments, usually 9×4 metres, divided into a kitchen facing the courtyard and a room facing the street. The apartments were accessed from a veranda on the courtyard-facing side, while drinking water was usually drawn from a well with a pump in the courtyard. After the introduction of public water supply, one riser was established for the entire the building, with a water sink and tap usually located on the veranda on each floor. Stoves were fed with solid fuel and the toilet was located at the end of the veranda by the gable wall of the neighbouring house. The small courtyard was mostly built up with sheds. After 1990, most of the buildings were returned in restitution or privatised, and the houses were gradually repaired. Some of the renovations respected the original veranda and adapted the building to today’s quality of living, while elsewhere the veranda was completely transformed into a closed corridor with windows. The original verandas without major modifications are rarely in good condition. 

→ Jeronýmova → Husitská → 3 Tachovské náměstí 

Take Jeronýmova Street back down to Husitská Street and continue to Tachovské náměstí Square. Its name commemorates the victorious battle of the Hussites at Tachov in 1427. From Tachovské náměstí Square, you can take the Žižkov tunnel to Karlín or climb up to Vítkov Hill. The newly planted vineyard at the foot of the hill is a revived reminder that the southern slopes of Vítkov were used to grow grapes in the past, since the time of Charles IV. In a memorable battle on 14 July 1420, Jan Žižka of Trocnov faced an overwhelming number of crusader troops on the fortified summit of Vítkov Hill. Thanks to his strategic position on a narrow outcrop, he managed to repel the invaders and the first crusade of Sigismund of Luxembourg ended in failure. The entire park is dominated by a bronze equestrian statue of Jan Žižka by Bohumil Kafka from 1950, which is among the ten largest equestrian statues in the world. It is located in front of the Functionalist building of Národní památník (National Memorial) built in 1928-1938 in honour of the Czechoslovak Legionnaires. A detour from the route is compensated by an exceptional view of the Prague skyline and city centre. The U Slovanské lípy (At the Slav Linden Tree) pub on the corner of the square is the oldest pub in Žižkov. Try the Žižkov pan bake or sample delicacies from an Old Žižka platter in the First Republic interior. 

→ Chlumova → Prokopovo náměstí → Prokopova → 4 Havlíčkovo náměstí 

Continue to the right along Chlumova Street past the listed Functionalist building of Pražská městská spořitelna (Prague City Savings Bank) with an allegorical figure of a man on the corner of the first-floor balcony. 
In the middle of Prokopovo náměstí Square is a triangular monument to Jaroslav Hašek, Czech writer and author of the novel series The Good Soldier Švejk, who spent part of his life in the area. Sculptor Karel Nepraš conceived the work as an unusual equestrian bust. House number 4 in Prokopova Street conceals a unique Cubist building with Art Nouveau elements in the courtyard, designed by architect Emil Králíček. The Bethlehem Chapel of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren is the only preserved original Cubist interior in Prague. Take note of the veranda house in the courtyard opposite the church. Even as the Žižkov neighbourhood was being planned, the space comprising Havlíčkovo náměstí was envisaged as a central and administrative square. The most important building on the square is the Žižkov Town Hall, built in 1889-1991 in the Neo-Renaissance style, later supplemented by an Art Nouveau extension. The town hall is connected to another massive building, the school. The gently sloping Havlíčkovo náměstí with its beautiful park and flower arrangements is embellished with a statue of Karel Havlíček Borovský, after whom the square is named, standing in the middle. From Prokopova Street, turn left past the slanted house, in front of which there is another panel in the flowerbed. 
 

→ Prokopova → 5 Jeseniova 

The designation “lower Žižkov” is based on the terrain of this part of Žižkov, which rises steeply from the valley at the foot of Vítkov Hill to Vinohrady. The wine estates and vineyards that had been established here since the Middle Ages, especially on the southern slopes of Vítkov Hill, Holy Cross Hill and the adjacent sunny hillsides, were destroyed at the end of the Thirty Years’ War. The former fields and gardens, difficult hilly terrain and evolving industry predetermined the parcelling of the land for the construction of tenement houses with small flats for the non-wealthy classes, making lower Žižkov a mixture of 19th and 20th century buildings with a specific character imprinted by the first mayor of the independent municipality of Žižkov, the builder Karel Hartig. He created a regulatory plan in 1865, which is considered to be the year when Žižkov was founded. In 1878, he also promoted the name Žižkov and later the naming of the houses, squares and streets after prominent personalities or places associated with Hussitism and the Reformation. As a result, Prague 3 probably has the oldest system of street names in Prague. The street signs were written in the Czech language and in the national red and white colours. This method was later adopted by the whole of Prague. On 1 October 2023, Koněvova Street was renamed in his honour and the longest street in Žižkov is now called Hartigova Street. 

 → Rokycanova → to the right down Sabinova → 6 Komenského náměstí 

The evenly rectangular square has borne the name of the “teacher of nations” John Amos Comenius since its foundation before 1875. As the population of Žižkov grew after the middle of the 19th century, so did the need for a school. The Neo-Renaissance two-storey school building was completed in 1881 and was the only building in the area to “survive” the redevelopment of the site in the 1970s and 1980s, thanks to fierce public opposition. The mass demolition and reconstruction of Žižkov was supposed to be a major party undertaking and a showcase of the modern socialist approach to housing. Today, the school once again serves its original purpose as the seat of the Prague City Grammar School and the Music School. Unfortunately, the dozens of tenement houses of old Žižkov were less fortunate, and today the square is surrounded by prefabricated panel buildings. 

 → Blahoslavova → 7 Jeseniova 

The Church of St. Anne with the former Carmelite monastery is an Art Nouveau pearl of sacral architecture not only within Žižkov, but the whole of Prague. The interior structure of the nave is complemented by remarkable wall paintings, mostly decorative in character, following the Beuron school of painting of the Emmaus Monastery. The church is not classically oriented, but instead faces east onto Tovačovského Street, while the chancel is on the west side. The buildings opposite block the view of Holy Cross Hill, also called Parukářka after the no longer existing farmstead No. 39, which was located close to Jeseniova Street. There is a separate short educational trail through the park, and from the top you can enjoy one of the best views of the city and some of Žižkov’s landmarks. As you walk down Zelenky-Hajského Street, remember one of the many brave Žižkov citizens who gave their life in the fight against Nazism. The family of Jan Zelenka-Hajský provided housing and assistance to the paratroopers of the Anthropoid operation and, together with the Rút family that also lived in the building, facilitated preparations for the assassination of acting Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich in May 1942. Both families paid for their heroism with their lives. Around the corner, at 4 Biskupcova Street, is a memorial plaque on the house where the family lived. 

 → Jeseniova → Zelenky-Hajského → Biskupcova → Jana Želivského → Ohrada intersection → 8 Ohrada Park  

You are standing at one of the most complicated intersections in Prague 3. The name of the Ohrada intersection harks back to the eponymous former vineyard estate from the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. By circling the park opposite, you can reach the footbridge that crosses the wide Pod Krejcárkem Street. The most convenient way to get from Ohrada Park to Vítkov is along the dense network of walking trails in this part of the park. Here, the ridge of Vítkov Hill gently transitions in a north-easterly direction towards the Na Krejcárku garden colony, unusual for the inner city, which can be considered a continuation of the famous workers’ colony of the same name. From the footbridge, descend to the little park by Hartigova Street and continue upwards. 

→ 9 Hartigova (park near the Pražačka grounds)  

This site is dominated by a series of schools built in the 1920s, adjacent to the modern Pražačka Sports and Recreation Centre, offering a wide range of sports facilities, a new outdoor swimming pool, an indoor pool and accommodation options in a campsite or hostel. The name Pražačka recalls a former homestead of the same name, which used to stand roughly in the middle of Pod Krejcárkem Street. The vineyard estate, already documented in the 16th century, along with extensive land, belonged to the prominent Stome family of Žižkov from 1800. Their son-in-law Karel Hartig was instrumental in shaping Žižkov as we know it today. On the opposite side of Hartigova Street, the tram tracks turn into the Žižkov Tram Depot, which began operation in 1912 under the name Vápenka. It is the second oldest depot in operation after the Strašnice Tram Depot, and the only Prague depot with a track circle in the yard. The entrance to the depot is at the corner of Biskupcova and Na Vápence Streets. 
Our tip: follow the street along the school → V Domově Street (parallel to Hartigova Street). Between V Domově, V Bezpečí, Strážní, Na Hlídce, Hraniční and Na Balkáně Streets, architect Ladislav Machoň, a pupil of Jan Kotěra, designed a colony of 63 Art Deco family homes called “Domov” (Home) with half-timbered features and gardens in a uniform style. A number of houses from 1921-1922 still bear elements of the original design. Return to Hartigova Street and go down Hraniční Street. 

→ 10 Hartigova Street, park near the university dormitories 
 

The last information panel on this part of the route is in the park near the University of Economics student dormitories. The Jarov neighbourhood was named after the building cooperative that built a colony of family houses of the same name in the 1920s. A number of other buildings and institutions rose up in the locality, including a primary school, the Jarov housing estate with 1,740 flats (1959-1963), and the student dormitories for the University of Economics. Their grounds border the Jewish Ovens, the second largest park in Prague 3 after the park on Vítkov Hill. The park covers an area of approximately 7 hectares and is located in the eastern part of Žižkov, north of the Žižkov Freight Station. The origin of the name Jewish Ovens is unknown. According to some sources, there were once caves where Jews could take refuge during the pogroms under Maria Theresa. However, it is documented that there used to be an execution ground in the area, which was moved here from the original Šibeniční vrch (Gallows Hill) in 1836. The last execution took place at the Jewish Ovens in 1866. It was still a deserted hill after the World War II, which was converted into a park in the 1960s and revitalised in 2015. 

Arrangement of panels

On the Boundary of Žižkov – Husitská Street

• The Nostalgia of Veranda Houses – Kostnické náměstí Square, park near the stairs
• Up to Vítkov Hill – Tachovské náměstí Square 
• Town Hall – park at Havlíčkovo náměstí Square  
• Lower Žižkov – Prokopova Street, corner with Rokycanova Street 
• And then came redevelopment – Komenského náměstí Square 
• Art Nouveau beneath Holy Cross Hill – Jeseniova Street, corner opposite the Church of St. Anne 
• Ohrada and its surroundings – park 
• On the border of Žižkov and Vysočany – small park on the corner near the Vozovna Žižkov tram stop 
• When you say Jarov – small park in front of the University of Economics dorms 

Map of the entire educational trail (i.e. blue and red trail) 

If you want to combine the two routes of the educational trail, you can take the tram from Chmelnice to Nákladové nádraží Žižkov (tram 9, 10; 2 km) and follow the second part  of the route in reverse order.