Architecture 1958—89: Jalta Hotel 

Antonín Tenzer Jalta Hotel in Prague, 1954—1958 

Václavské náměstí 45, Praha 1 – Nové Město

In what is perhaps his most significant independent post-war project – the Jalta Hotel on Wenceslas Square – Antonín Tenzer exploited the knowledge and experience from his early youth and studies. In the Jalta project, he did not design “just” the architecture, but the entire building, creating an artistic whole that included all the furniture and fittings, from the parquet floors to the lighting fixtures and selection of artworks – or, as the author himself liked to mention, even the design of the doormat. The significance of the Jalta Hotel lies in the building of the hotel as a high-quality Gesamtkunstwerk, created during a socially, economically and politically unfavourable time, but also in its respect for the hotel’s exceptional location, which Tenzer was acutely aware of. 

The hotel filled one of the three gaps on Prague’s main square, left as a reminder of the bombings in May 1945. It was opened almost simultaneously with the Czechoslovak pavilion at the Expo 1958 in Brussels. The history of the hotel’s development reflects the situation of the time: the vacant lot had to be filled as quickly as possible (primarily for political reasons). During the initial stages of construction, the concept changed (Tenzer advocated for a luxury hotel fitting the importance of the location, as opposed to the originally intended lower-category hotel). The architect had to fight for the use of materials such as marble, Slovak travertine and coloured metals (i.e. materials that were forbidden in post-war conditions, especially shortly after the currency reform). Last but not least, he had to defend his design before the ideological commission, explaining why the façade was insufficiently classical. 

While the Jalta Hotel is remembered in Czech architectural history as an outstanding example of socialist realism (Sorela), it incorporates many elements through which Tenzer consciously connected to tradition while also working with contemporary influences. The high order of the main façade cannot be read simply as a moderate nod to the desired neoclassicism (of Soviet Russia). Tenzer perceived the project of an international hotel on Prague’s most important square as a building that needed to be representative and monumental but also had to respect the more significant building — the National Museum. 

The facade, with its classical vocabulary and an unconventional even number of window axes and two entrances, consciously connects to the so-called national style: a highly sculptural, often red-and-white Czechoslovak variant of Art Deco, the architecture of his childhood and the generation of his teachers. The diagonal line, which runs from the façade to the final artisanal detail of the interior, not only visually broadens the façade but also creates a traditional cross pattern. The sculptural decoration of the façade is particularly notable: while the group of four sculptures formally adheres to the demands of the time, its iconography is timeless and lacks the traditional attributes of socialist realism. 

The hotel consisted of three sections: the main hotel building with a monumental façade facing the square, a central oval section with a luxurious interior accessible to the public, and a utilitarian rear section (which no longer exists) that housed the hotel’s operational facilities and employee spaces. After the 1989 revolution, subsequent changes in ownership, and the installation of a casino in the former basement wine bar, many artworks were either removed or lost, such as those by Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová. On the ground floor of the oval section, sixteen windows with figurative etchings by Milada Trčková, which used to obscure the view into the inner courtyard, were sealed. In the same area, a seven-meter-long ceramic relief by sculptor Václav Markup is hidden behind a plasterboard wall.