Ministry of Defense building in Prague

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The Ministry of Defense, Na Valech Street

The building of the Ministry of Defense in Prague , built in 1899/1900, today the seat of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic (until 1993 Czechoslovakia ), is located in an area with several buildings near the Prague Castle .

The building is now the seat of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic .

Location and facilities

The Ministry building is located in the street Na Valech in the cadastral Hradčany the Czech capital Prague , to the administrative districts Prague 1 and Prague 6 belongs. It stands where Bastion XV of the Mariánské hradby (Marian Defensive Wall ) used to be, part of the older fortifications of the city of Prague .

In addition to the main building, the larger building complex also included residential houses for officers, crew quarters, a hospital, riding hall, riding school as well as stables and a garden pavilion, which are no longer available today; after 1927 a printing house was added.

history

After the fortifications of the city of Prague , which were laid out during the 17th and 18th centuries, were gradually demolished as a result of an imperial order from 1866 for lack of military importance, the vacated area was used to build a cadet school. The building was built in the neo-renaissance style in 1899/1900 according to the designs of the military architect Franišek Eckert and the chief designer of the construction company Nekvasil Josef Bertl .

Use from 1900

After the completion of the building on Na Valech Street, the following users took turns:

  • 1900 to 1918 a cadet school, which was previously located in the Königinhofer Barracks in the old town of Prague (founded there in 1869)
  • After Czechoslovakia was founded in October 1918, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court, among others, took up some of the premises
  • Due to Law 322 Sb. Of June 11, 1919, the area was returned to the military administration
  • From September 1, 1919 to 1921, the Škola generálního štábu (School of the General Staff) worked here
  • on November 1, 1921, the Válečná škola (War School) founded here , renamed Vysoká škola válečná (abbreviated VŠV, War College) on October 1, 1934 ; it existed until September 1938
  • 1939 to 1945 during the time of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia , the building was used to house the SS Guard Battalion Prague ( Adolf Hitler barracks )
  • After 1945, some departments of the Ministry of the Interior temporarily found some rooms here, such as and also the newly established war college
  • In 1951, the War College was dissolved and the Vojenská akademie (Military Academy) was established, which was renamed Vojenská politická akademie (Military Political Academy) in 1953 , which operated here until 1958
  • In 1968 the building was confiscated by the Soviet Army ; thereafter, for the next 20 years, the building was the seat of the so-called "senior representative of the Supreme Commander of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact at the Federal Ministry of the Interior [of Czechoslovakia]"
  • After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the building was returned to the Ministry of the Interior of Czechoslovakia (or after 1993 the Czech Republic), which is still there today

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Výročí - 110 let ck pražské kadetky Na Valech , in: Břevnovan, local newspaper for Prague 6, No. 9-10 / 2010 (September 2010), p. 10, online at: brevnovan.net / ...
  2. ↑ a b Budova Ministerstva obrany v Praze - Na Valech , Description of the Ministry of the Czech Republic, online at: mocr.army.cz / ...
  3. ↑ a b A printed postcard from 1900 (view of the cadet school), scanned in a longer article on Mariánské hradby (Marienwehr wall), online at: homolinka2.blog.cz / ...
  4. ↑ Vojenský historický archiv - Vysoká škola válečná , brief information, online at: badatelna.eu / ...

Coordinates: 50 ° 5 ′ 41 ″  N , 14 ° 24 ′ 2.4 ″  E