If you ask many people in Prague about ‘Invalidovna’ they’d be more likely to direct you to the metro stop of that name. Few know of the magnificent Baroque building which gives it its name.
This article explores the story behind this beautiful architectural gem.
History
The thinking behind the building is that used for France’s Hotel des Invalides: a place for war invalids and their families1. The intent was simple – these people should not end up begging or infirm in old age2.
It was the Florentine Count Petr Strozzi who came up with the idea2. As a soldier, he knew how hard it could be for a wounded veteran to live a normal life after fighting on the front2. He wanted the building to include2:
- Ceremonial halls
- Fields and orchards
- Kitchens
- Prisons
- Shops
- Workshops
- Washrooms and toilets
- A brewery and distillery
- A cemetery
- A church
- A pub and an officers’ club
- A refectory
- A school
- A slaughterhouse
- A hospital
This was a grand project. It is not surprising that this was in Prague’s Karlin neighbourhood. At the time this was outside the city walls and uninhabited2. The Knights of the Red Star owned the land. These Knights ran a hospice founded by St Agnes of Bohemia, King Wenceslas’ sister2.
The eastern city walls bordering with Karlin no longer exist having been demolished to make way for Tešnov station. This station, too, no longer exists.
Construction work started in 1731. Emperor Charles VI laid the foundation stone for the building on 15 August 17322. By 1737, they finished the building that appears today3 4. In 1740, Charles VI died and the lack of funds meant all work on this project stopped2.
The Archbishop of Prague took over the building2. In its first year of operation, Invalidovna housed 200 disabled people2. By 1874, this grew to a peak of 1 400 people2 4.
In 1935, the authorities converted the building to a museum, and a military archive3 4. The Nazis managed this conversion, and the Czechoslovak army continued this function after the war4.
Nowadays, the building is often used in movies and TV series, as it was in Milos Forman’s Mozart4.
Architecture
The concept behind the building was something the Viennese Imperial court created and approved5. At the time, they intended Invalidovna to be ten times larger than it actually is4 5 to house 40 000 families2. Funds ran out so what we can only imagine what it would have been like. In fact, despite only being a fraction of the original plan, it’s is comparable to Paris’ Hotel des Invalides and London’s Royal Hospital Chelsea4.
Considering the size of the plans, it’s clear Invalidovna was going to be a town in its own right.
Czech Baroque architect Kilian Ignaz Dienzenhofer designed this Roman-architecture inspired building5. While the idea for the building was Paris’ Hotel des Invalides, there is a touch of Madrid’s El Escorial in its design5.
Many tourists are familiar with Dienzenhofer’s work in the shape of St Nicholas’ church on Malostranske Namesti4.
What’s interesting about the building is that Dienzenhofer designed it at a time when the main medical theory was that fresh air and light would help – the theory of miasma4. This is why Invalidovna takes full advantage of airflow and has plenty of natural light4.
The esplanade in front of the building contains a statue of Count Peter Strozzi, in memory of his idea and work for wounded veterans4.
As a result, today this is one of the most impressive Bohemian Baroque buildings5. In 2017 Czechia declared it a national cultural monument1.
- Hotel des Invalides; Open House Prague; (Retrieved 2020-07-15) [↩][↩]
- Invalides in Karlín; Kudyznudy.cz; (Retrieved 2020-07-14) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Invalidovna; Prague.EU; (Retrieved 2020-07-15) [↩][↩]
- ‘Invalidovna’: Prague’s sprawling Baroque architectural gem; Brian Kenety; Radio Prague International; 2020-05-06[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- History; Invalidovna; (Retrieved 2020-07-14) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]