The Metro is the most commonly used mode of transport in the city of Prague. With currently only three lines, it also belongs to one of the most extensive networks in Europe. The three lines cross each other right in the center at the stations Müstek, Muzeum and Florenc and from there run far into the city's outskirts. The total length of the three metro lines in Prague is 54.7 kilometers. The metro passes a total of 61 stations. During the day, the metro runs twelve times an hour, which is expanded to twenty-four times an hour during rush hours. In the evening after eight o'clock there is a metro at least every ten minutes. Enough about the practical, because we think history is much more interesting.
The history of the Prague Metro
The Prague Metro has only existed since the 1970s, but there were ideas to build underground transport in the city long before that. The first proposal came from Ladislav Rot in 1898. At that time there was a lot of construction in the center of Prague and when the streets were open, he thought it wise to start digging tunnels for underground trains right away. The plan was brushed aside by the city council.
In 1926, another proposal for a metro in the city was made, this time by Vladimír List and Bohumil Belada. This idea was also not implemented, but from this moment more ideas came to solve the fast growing transport problem in Prague. In the 1930s and 1940s there was much discussion and research and two possible solutions were devised: an underground tram (a tram that goes underground in the center is also called a premetro) or a metro. After the Second World War, all work was interrupted due to the weak economic situation of the Czech Republic. At that point, the three metro lines were already almost completely thought out.
By the early 1960s, the concept of the pre-metro was accepted. Construction of the Hlavní nádraží stop under the main station began on August 9, 1967, but the plans were radically changed in the same year. Under the influence of Soviet advisers, the Czech government nevertheless decided to build a "real" subway.
On May 9, 1974, the first section of line C started running scheduled services between the stops Sokolovská (nowadays renamed Florenc) and Kačerov. The construction of the subway network continued soon afterwards. The first part of line A was opened in 1978 and line B in 1985. The triangle in the center was now complete and the lines have been extended ever since.
In 2008, three new stops, Střížkov, Prosek, and Letňany were opened at the northeastern end of line C. The main purpose of this extension is to connect the flats in Prosek with the inner city. In 2015, line A was subsequently extended by 4 stops, namely Borislavka, Nadrazi Veleslavin (transfer station on bus 119 to the airport), Petriny and Nemocnice Motol.
If you have been to Prague and traveled regularly by subway, the following sentence will probably pass in your dream during the first few days: "Ukončete prosím výstup a nástup, dveře se zavírají."
It means: "Please stop getting in and out, the doors are closing!".
Flooding
During the high water in Central Europe in 2002, when the Vltava and Elbe flooded in many places, Prague's subway network was severely affected. Large parts of the network, including at least seventeen stops, were damaged. Water broke through walls in two places.
After the high water, parts of the metro network were unavailable for several months. Especially the stations in the city center were no longer usable. The result was that the overcrowded traffic above the ground experienced a lot of hindrance. Gradually, the metro network was put back into use. Repairing the damaged escalators was a difficult task. It was not until two and a half months after the high water that the first stops could be reopened.
Line B took the longest to repair. It was not until March 30, 2003 that all stops on this line were put back into service. The total cost of repairs to the damage caused by the flood is estimated at 6.9 billion Czech Crown (approximately 230 million euros). The Czech state paid 2.8 billion of this, 2.4 billion was paid by the European Investment Bank, 1 billion by insurance and 700 million by the public transport company.
Deepest point in Europe
Unfortunately, the deepest point in Europe is not in Prague, because it is in Moscow. However, in Prague you will find the deepest point of the European Union. Metro station Náměstí Míru is more than 53 meters underground, making it officially the deepest point in the European Union. To get to the platforms you descend an 87 meter long escalator, which takes about 2.5 minutes. Take a look below, look up, very impressive.
You used to be a little faster downstairs because then all stations in Prague still had so-called Soviet escalators that were a lot faster. Unfortunately, these escalators were also a lot more dangerous due to the speed, which is why these escalators are no longer allowed under European regulations. If there is even a minor defect in one of the escalators, they are therefore immediately replaced. At the moment you can still find old escalators at the following stations: Florenc and Zelivskeho. If you want to take a ride on the escalator in Zelivskeho, you can immediately admire the art on the wall. Read this article all the way to the bottom because there you will find an extensive report on the works of art in the various metro stations.
Communism
On February 22, 1990 Fourteen Prague stops were renamed. These names often referred to the communist era and communist ideology and were changed to politically neutral names. For example, the name of the Leninova stop, named after Lenin, was changed to Dejvická, but the Kosmonautů stop was also renamed Háje.
Leninova now Dejvicka (line A)
Moskevska now Andel (line B)
Slovenskeho narodniho povstani nu Hurka (line B)
Švermova now Jinonice (Line B)
Unoroveho vitezstvi nu Nove Butovice (line B)
Dukelská nu Nové Butovice (line B)
Budovutelu now Chodov (line C)
Kosmonautu nu Haje (line C)
Sokolovska now Florenc (line C)
Fučíkova now Nadrazi Holesovice (line C)
Druzby now Opatov (line C)
Mladeznicka now Pankrac (line C)
Primatora Vacka now Roztyly (line C)
Gottwaldova now Vysehrad (line C)
Subway stations that owe their name to heroes of communism
Leninova, Gottwaldova, Fučíkova and ŠVERMOVA were named after important people within the communist regime.
1. Leninova now Dejvicka metro station
The name of Leninova Metro Station referred to Leninova Street (now Evropaska) which was named after Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union and former president. In 1917 he seized power and deposed the Tsar. Russia became a socialist republic and agricultural lands, companies and factories became state property. However, this led to a decline in production and Lenin soon changed his policy. Part of the state property became private property again. He died in 1924. His successor Stalin believed in the same ideology.
2. Gottwaldova now Vyšehrad metro station
The metro station Gottwaldova was named after the Klement Gottwald Bridge, which is now called the Nuselský Bridge. Klement Gottwald was leader of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia from 1945 to 1953. A race Stalinist, he nationalized industry and introduced collective farming and forced Czechoslovakia into a Soviet and Stalinist model of government. The Communist Party replaced the state.
Political purges began in 1950 and resulted in the executions of about 180 party officials, including the party's first secretary, Gottwald's rival Rudolf Slánský. Gottwald attended Joseph Stalin's funeral on March 9, 1953, but caught a cold, then contracted pneumonia and died five days later.
3. Fučíkova now Nádraží Holešovice metro station
Fučíkova metro station is named after Julius Fučík (1903 -1943), journalist and active member of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. When the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939, he went into hiding, became a member of the banned Central Committee of the Communist Party in 1941, and was subsequently arrested by the Nazis. During his imprisonment he wrote: Reportáž psaná na oprátce (Report written under the gallows). In 1943 he was sentenced to death and hanged.
Fučík's book described a brighter, communist future full of hope. Therefore, the Communist Party saw his work as suitable propaganda material and it became required reading for schoolchildren from the age of 10. Fučík became an ideological symbol of the regime but it was overlooked that he had opposed the Gestapo, saved the lives of countless Czechoslovaks and denounced the heinous practices of the Gestapo while in prison.
4. ŠVERMOVA now Jinonice metro station
ŠVERMOVA refers to Jan Šverma (1901-1944), resistance fighter, journalist and friend of Klement Gottwald. The current Štefánik bridge was also named after him for some time. He was the editor-in-chief of Rudé Právo, the official mouthpiece of the KSČ (Komunistická strana Československa), the Czechoslovak Communist Party.
5. Primatora Vacka now Roztyly metro station
Primatora Vacka (Mayor Vacek) is named after Václav Vacek (1877-1960), writer, politician and mayor of Prague. He was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1921. Subway stations that owe their name to communist ideals
1. Druzby (now Opatov) means friendship, comradeship but with a loaded meaning. It was something similar to the chores that were obligatory during communism as fraternization with your comrades. The word družba can evoke even more associations. The youth used to have to work on the land as a social service, for example at the hop harvest for beer, družba na chmeli. It is a word that they try to avoid in the Czech Republic these days because of this history.
2. Mladeznicka (now Pankrac) means youth and was named after the communist youth movement for education and recreation with a political focus.
3. Kosmonautu (now Haje) means astronaut and was named after the Russian space program.
4. Budovutelu (now Chodov), budovatel means builder, after 1948 it came to mean builder of socialism.
Subway stations that owe their name to battles and uprisings
1. Slovenské národní povstání now Hůrka was named after the Slovak National Uprising in 1944, an armed uprising of the Slovak resistance movement against German occupation of Slovak territory.
2. Dukelská now Nové Butovice was named after the Battle of Dukla Pass in the Carpathians in September and October 1944, an offensive between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The battle cost the lives of a total of 300,000 soldiers, 17,000 of whom were Czechoslovaks.
3. Sokolovská now Florenc was named after the Battle of Sokolovo in Ukraine which took place in March 1943. The Czechoslovak army fought alongside the Red Army and slowed down the advance of the German army.
Metro station Anděl formerly Moskevská owed its name to a building
Moskevská now Anděl got its name from the fact that architects and engineers from the Soviet Union designed and built the metro. To strengthen ties of friendship, the Prague and Moscow metro networks both had a station named after Prague. Prague station has been renamed Anděl but Moscow kept the name Пражская, Prazhskaya. When the statue of Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev on náměstí Interbrigády in Prague 6 was removed in April 2020, Moscow threatened to change the name of the Prazhskaya metro station. However, this has not happened so far.
Konev played a role in liberating the city of Prague from Nazi forces at the end of World War II, but his involvement in the building of the Berlin Wall, suppression of the Budapest uprising of 1956 and the Prague Spring in 1968 put him in a different light: from liberator to executioner.
The new name, Anděl, is a reference to Dům U Zlatého Anděla (the house with the golden angel) on Nádražní street (near the Novy Smichov shopping center) from the mid-nineteenth century. The facade of the building was decorated with an angel in a torn cloak and with a palm branch in his hand. On the ground floor of the house there were several shops, such as women's clothing, a drugstore, bookstore, printing house and a buffet with pastries and coffee.
In 1980, the entire row of houses was blown up in connection with the construction of the metro. The angel has been preserved and is now in the storage of the Museum of the capital Prague. On the site of the blown-up Dům U Zlatého anděla building, there is now Zlatý Anděl, an eye-catching building built almost entirely of glass and financed by ING.
At the south entrance Na Knizeci (bus station side) of the Anděl metro station, you will find a work of art on the wall in the station hall in memory of communism. The work of art was removed at the fall of communism, but after protest it was quickly put back up. The work of art recalls the bond of friendship between Prague and Moscow.
Names of subway stations that were ultimately never used
Metrostion Hradčanská (Line A) opened in 1978 and was planned to be named Obránců Míru, Defenders of Peace, but was named based on its topographical location. Hrad means castle in Czech and refers to the nearby Prague Castle.
Nové Butovice (line B) opened in 1988 and should have been named Vítězného února (Victorious February). This would refer to the February Victory also known as Prague Coup in 1948 when the communists seized power in Czechoslovakia. But due to the waning success of the regime, a less provocative communist name Dukelská was chosen.
Invalidovna (Line B) opened in 1990 and was planned as Hakenova, a reference to Josef Haken, chairman of the Communist Party.
Českomoravská (line B), opened in 1990 and was planned as Zápotockého, named after Antonín Zápotocký successor to Klement Gottwald, the president of Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1957.
Kobylisy (line C) would have been called Rudé Armády, the Red Army.
Prague the city of forgetting
The Czech writer Milan Kundera (1929), persona non grata in his native country since 1975, lives in France and always wrote about the city of Prague, a city he could never forget. In his books he emphasized the ever-changing identity of the city.
He calls Prague 'the city of forgetting'. And that is exactly what happened to the communist legacy of the subway stations. The name change of the stations erases the past, but also brought something positive. The communist names were intended to glorify communism and not to clearly indicate the location of a subway station.
The name Staroměstská clearly shows that this metro station is in the Old Town, Staré Město. But Fučíkova says nothing about the location. The new post-communist name nádraží Holešovice, train station Holešovice is clear. ŠMVrov could be anywhere in Prague. The current name Jinonice shows which district it is in. Route between I.P. Pavlova and Vysehrad
Between the stations I.P. Pavlova and Vyšehrad, the route hangs under the Nusle bridge, a bridge of the main highway over a lower residential area. A special piece of work because it was a real prestige project at the time of construction. Of course they had to be sure that the whole thing would not collapse and the bridge was tested with a large number of heavy tanks. Tests were also carried out with trucks fully loaded with 3000 tons of sand and soil. The bridge passed the tests, so the metro still runs through an above-ground tunnel.
Colors of the wall panels
The stations located between Hradčanská and Flora are identical in design. The walls are covered with a repetition of concave and convex shapes. Only the livery differs from station to station. The colors are not chosen randomly but reflect the place the stations are named after.
The gold of Hradčanská symbolizes Prague Castle.
The greenery of Malostranská represents the surrounding Royal Gardens.
The blood red of Staroměstská refers to the murders of 27 Czech nobles during the Uprising of 1621.
The brown of Muzeum stands for the fortified walls that once stood here.
The blue of Náměstí Míru (Peace Square) is the color of peace.
The purple red of Flora refers to the vineyards of Vinohrady.
The subway as a shelter
The metro also serves as a shelter during major disasters, for example. Almost all stations on line A (green line) and some on line B (yellow line) are equipped with heavy doors with which they can hermetically close the stations and tunnels. The stations together provide shelter for more than 300,000 people. You can recognize the stations that are deep enough and where you can take shelter from the curve in the walls. There is no shelter in stations with straight walls.
Station Klarov a mystery in Prague
Klarov station is located between Prague Castle and Straka Academy, the seat of government. The question is whether Klarov is a subway station or an air raid shelter? The entrance to Klarov is directly opposite the Straka Academy and closed by a steel door behind which there are two shafts, with stairs, and probably originally intended as an escalator to the station concourse. No one has an answer as to why this station was built or what it was used for. It was built between 1952 and 1959, when the country was still under communist rule. The current metro network then only existed on paper and became a project that had to be implemented from 1965 onwards. The drawings and the plan of the station are marked as classified in the city archives. The subway stations are sometimes like a museum
Many subway stations are decorated with wall art. As mentioned earlier, in Metro station Andel there is a coastal work in memory of the communist era on the wall. You will also find a medieval bridge at Müstek station. This was a discovery during the construction of the station in 1970. The remains of the bridge are bricked into a wall of the station.
Karlovo Namesti (Charles Square) station also houses some works of art. In one central hall you will find a large mosaic mural depicting the life and times of Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He founded Charles University, planned urban renewal and built the Nove Mesto district. In the other central hall you will find a large graffiti mural.
At Malostranska you will find a gold-colored key and sun on the entrance building.
At Skalka you will find a mosaic mural on the wall behind the pillars.
At Zelivskeho you will find two murals in mosaic style.
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