HLAVNÍ NÁDRAŽÍ: A LONG-AWAITED RENAISANCE
Written by Andrew Parker
Sandwiched between the slopes of Vinohrady’s genteel, residential grandeur, and the bustle of the city’s heart, is Prague’s Main Railway Station (Hlavní Nádraží), a hub of European rail travel for 160 years. Passengers can depart here bound for Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Krakow, Budapest, Bucharest, Minsk and Moscow, where a change of train extends the journey to Vladivostok, Ulan Bator or Beijing.
But while other parts of Prague – most obviously the historical center, but also Vinohrady and areas further afield – have enjoyed years of attention dedicated to their betterment, Hlavní Nádraží has remained relatively neglected. In fact, the station’s first significant renovation since the days of the Communist regime began last December.
Railway stations do get bad press, tending to attract the seamier elements of civilization, and Hlavní Nádraží is no exception, The once-grand complex has long been regarded as a destination for danger, one of the city’s most notorious locations. “Don’t go there! Especially at night!” the locals will tell you, and with inimitable Czech humor, the park in front of the station has been nicknamed “Sherwood”, after the legendary forest where the rich were robbed for the benefit of the poor.
Throughout its rich history, the station complex has undergone various revamps and changes of name, and between 1901 and 1909, in the final years of the Austro- Hungarian Empire, the Kaiser Franz Josef I foot the bill for a stunning Art Nouveau building, naturally naming it after himself. The renowned architect Josef Fanta was handed the design job and, true to architects of the day, he didn’t hold back on elaborate details, all of which remain to this day – albeit in dilapidated, dusty form.
The building’s cupola was once the main entrance where horse drawn carriages would pull up and vast chests were unloaded to waiting porters. The same site is now home to Fantova Kavárna, a coffee shop serving commuters, backpackers, day-trippers and the occasional vagabond who may have spent the night nearby.
Above the doors that used to lead to the main railway office, now the café’s kitchen, a naked lady, sculpted from stone, gazes dreamily across to her Adonis. Welcome to Bohemia. A bust of Franz Josef juts from a wall, and one can almost envisage the royal valets throwing open the heavy doors to allow their kaiser entry to the former concourse, and from Prague a safe passage home to Vienna. The whole space retains an air of faded glory, and the huge clock hanging from the ceiling gently ticks off the time for travelers present as it did for travelers past.
World War I accounted for the Habsburg family, and in 1919 the station was renamed Wilsonovo Nádraží (Wilson Station) in homage to American President Woodrow Wilson, who oversaw the end of hostilities. His statue then overlooked the park – Sherwood – until it was destroyed by the occupying Nazis during World War II.
In the early 1970s the Communist government embarked upon a further period of renovation and introduced the style that can still be seen in the complex’s cavernous lower halls, adding an underground station as well as constructing the now very busy road that effectively cuts the city in half. It has been whispered that this highway was a politburo afterthought in an attempt to disrupt antigovernment protests at the foot of the National Museum and the top of Wenceslas Square.
Today and Tomorrow Carrying out the makeover thirty years hence is Italian company Grandi Stazioni, which, having gained extensive experience in the renovation of train stations on home turf, has been awarded the contract by Czech Railways to give the building a modern facelift. The design concept includes an ultra-modern glass and metallic shopping concourse in the main hall and upper level, with extensive restoration to be carried out on the Emperor’s original building and landscaped gardens slated to replace the park.
The Italian investors have formed a parent company, Grandi Stazioni Česká Republika, which has taken the building on a 30-year lease with a budgeted venture of EUR 32 million for the reconstruction work. In a public private partnership (PPP) arrangement, a form of business cooperation which has only recently made headway in the Czech Republic, Grandi Stazioni hopes and expects to make a profit on this outlay. The benefits for Czech Railways are apparent: they will not only get a completely up-to-date facility, but also freer finances to modernize rolling stock. According to Aleš Ondruj, press officer for Czech Railways, “The private partner gets return on expenses from the rent, and Czech Railways has the benefit of a modern infrastructure and attractive premises.”
While this plan is currently on track, don’t look forward to a stroll through the landscaped gardens just yet. Due to the necessity of maintaining business as usual at the country’s most frequented train station, it’s not surprising that renovations will take some time. As Martin Hamšík, press spokesman for Grandi Stazioni, pointed out, “We can’t just stop operating the station with so many people using it – more than 100,000 passengers daily. That’s not feasible, so the work will take place in phases over a period of five years.”
As with Grandi Stazioni’s projects on railway stations in Italy, ambitious plans are afoot to hold exhibitions, concerts and even fashion shows in the newly liberated space. “We don’t want it to be just a place where travelers come and go, but to keep it as a social space and attract people who live and work in the city,” said Hamšík.
Ondruj agrees, saying that a more welcoming venue may even bring in more revenue for Czech Railways. To a large extent, the concept follows a German and Austrian model. “If you look at Germany, you can see that when you walk through the stations, you are greeted with so many shops and services,” said Ondruj. “It’s our goal to bring in a whole spectrum of activities. Of course, you have to have better quality to cultivate the right environment and draw a mix of people.”
A modern concept for Hlavní Nádraží has arrived right on schedule. Train travel is on the rise in the Czech Republic – up 20% in 2006 – as people abandon the everincreasing dangers and inconvenience of traveling by car, and Czech Railways remains one of the country’s biggest employers. With luck, its staff and their successors will carry rail travel into the next century and a revamped portrait of Kaiser Franz Josef I may display a smile of satisfaction on his whiskered face.
Written by Andrew Parker
Sandwiched between the slopes of Vinohrady’s genteel, residential grandeur, and the bustle of the city’s heart, is Prague’s Main Railway Station (Hlavní Nádraží), a hub of European rail travel for 160 years. Passengers can depart here bound for Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Krakow, Budapest, Bucharest, Minsk and Moscow, where a change of train extends the journey to Vladivostok, Ulan Bator or Beijing.
But while other parts of Prague – most obviously the historical center, but also Vinohrady and areas further afield – have enjoyed years of attention dedicated to their betterment, Hlavní Nádraží has remained relatively neglected. In fact, the station’s first significant renovation since the days of the Communist regime began last December.
Railway stations do get bad press, tending to attract the seamier elements of civilization, and Hlavní Nádraží is no exception, The once-grand complex has long been regarded as a destination for danger, one of the city’s most notorious locations. “Don’t go there! Especially at night!” the locals will tell you, and with inimitable Czech humor, the park in front of the station has been nicknamed “Sherwood”, after the legendary forest where the rich were robbed for the benefit of the poor.
Throughout its rich history, the station complex has undergone various revamps and changes of name, and between 1901 and 1909, in the final years of the Austro- Hungarian Empire, the Kaiser Franz Josef I foot the bill for a stunning Art Nouveau building, naturally naming it after himself. The renowned architect Josef Fanta was handed the design job and, true to architects of the day, he didn’t hold back on elaborate details, all of which remain to this day – albeit in dilapidated, dusty form.
The building’s cupola was once the main entrance where horse drawn carriages would pull up and vast chests were unloaded to waiting porters. The same site is now home to Fantova Kavárna, a coffee shop serving commuters, backpackers, day-trippers and the occasional vagabond who may have spent the night nearby.
Above the doors that used to lead to the main railway office, now the café’s kitchen, a naked lady, sculpted from stone, gazes dreamily across to her Adonis. Welcome to Bohemia. A bust of Franz Josef juts from a wall, and one can almost envisage the royal valets throwing open the heavy doors to allow their kaiser entry to the former concourse, and from Prague a safe passage home to Vienna. The whole space retains an air of faded glory, and the huge clock hanging from the ceiling gently ticks off the time for travelers present as it did for travelers past.
World War I accounted for the Habsburg family, and in 1919 the station was renamed Wilsonovo Nádraží (Wilson Station) in homage to American President Woodrow Wilson, who oversaw the end of hostilities. His statue then overlooked the park – Sherwood – until it was destroyed by the occupying Nazis during World War II.
In the early 1970s the Communist government embarked upon a further period of renovation and introduced the style that can still be seen in the complex’s cavernous lower halls, adding an underground station as well as constructing the now very busy road that effectively cuts the city in half. It has been whispered that this highway was a politburo afterthought in an attempt to disrupt antigovernment protests at the foot of the National Museum and the top of Wenceslas Square.
Today and Tomorrow Carrying out the makeover thirty years hence is Italian company Grandi Stazioni, which, having gained extensive experience in the renovation of train stations on home turf, has been awarded the contract by Czech Railways to give the building a modern facelift. The design concept includes an ultra-modern glass and metallic shopping concourse in the main hall and upper level, with extensive restoration to be carried out on the Emperor’s original building and landscaped gardens slated to replace the park.
The Italian investors have formed a parent company, Grandi Stazioni Česká Republika, which has taken the building on a 30-year lease with a budgeted venture of EUR 32 million for the reconstruction work. In a public private partnership (PPP) arrangement, a form of business cooperation which has only recently made headway in the Czech Republic, Grandi Stazioni hopes and expects to make a profit on this outlay. The benefits for Czech Railways are apparent: they will not only get a completely up-to-date facility, but also freer finances to modernize rolling stock. According to Aleš Ondruj, press officer for Czech Railways, “The private partner gets return on expenses from the rent, and Czech Railways has the benefit of a modern infrastructure and attractive premises.”
While this plan is currently on track, don’t look forward to a stroll through the landscaped gardens just yet. Due to the necessity of maintaining business as usual at the country’s most frequented train station, it’s not surprising that renovations will take some time. As Martin Hamšík, press spokesman for Grandi Stazioni, pointed out, “We can’t just stop operating the station with so many people using it – more than 100,000 passengers daily. That’s not feasible, so the work will take place in phases over a period of five years.”
As with Grandi Stazioni’s projects on railway stations in Italy, ambitious plans are afoot to hold exhibitions, concerts and even fashion shows in the newly liberated space. “We don’t want it to be just a place where travelers come and go, but to keep it as a social space and attract people who live and work in the city,” said Hamšík.
Ondruj agrees, saying that a more welcoming venue may even bring in more revenue for Czech Railways. To a large extent, the concept follows a German and Austrian model. “If you look at Germany, you can see that when you walk through the stations, you are greeted with so many shops and services,” said Ondruj. “It’s our goal to bring in a whole spectrum of activities. Of course, you have to have better quality to cultivate the right environment and draw a mix of people.”
A modern concept for Hlavní Nádraží has arrived right on schedule. Train travel is on the rise in the Czech Republic – up 20% in 2006 – as people abandon the everincreasing dangers and inconvenience of traveling by car, and Czech Railways remains one of the country’s biggest employers. With luck, its staff and their successors will carry rail travel into the next century and a revamped portrait of Kaiser Franz Josef I may display a smile of satisfaction on his whiskered face.