Greenery will be watered by rainwater from the church

One of the most interesting new features is water management. A retention basin has been built on the square, and the surrounding greenery will be watered with rainwater collected from the church roof. The farmers’ markets, which have been held here since 2010, will now be located in the eastern part of the square; the popular playground has also been renovated. Some of the existing trees had to be cut down due to their poor condition, and more than 180 new trees have been planted. These are mainly plane trees, but also maples, hornbeams, oaks, linden trees, and ornamental cherry trees. Special grass has been planted in the square, which should be more resistant to warming and heavy foot traffic. All asphalt surfaces have been replaced with paving stones on a permeable gravel base or a gravel surface.

The United Europe fountain from the 1980s has also been restored, following requests from local residents to preserve it. The view of the church is now a bit more generous. The trees lining the new small square have been planted farther from the church’s facade so as not to obstruct the view of it. A new subway vent has also been built to replace the original one.

The renovation was 24 years in the making

Jiřího z Poděbrad Square is a key public space in the Prague 3 district. However, its current condition has long failed to reflect the social, urban, and architectural significance of the site. In 2000, the district therefore announced an architectural competition for a proposal to revitalize the space. The competition was won by MCA Atelier, led by Pavla Melková and Miroslav Cikán. The building permit was first issued in 2002. Construction preparations were underway, but then floods struck and funding was lacking, so the project was put on hold. In the years that followed, the topic of revitalizing Jiřího z Poděbrad Square surfaced several times only to fade back into obscurity. For a time, the Prague 3 administration even suspended the project entirely. In 2014, however, a Memorandum of Cooperation on the revitalization of the square as a city-wide public space of significance was signed between the Prague 3 district and the Prague City Hall. It took a long time, but another change occurred in 2019. Extensive public participation took place, with assistance from IPR Prague, and the project was given the green light once again.

“Jiřák” in a new light

The revitalization responds to the square’s current needs. It anticipates both the daily use of the space and the hosting of markets, festivals, and cultural events. Its goal is also to complete the square’s final form as a unified whole, a task that was never finished. It focuses on removing various barriers, such as the separation of the square from adjacent buildings and streets, which is the case, for example, with the impassable corner at the intersection of Vinohradská and Slavíkova streets. It emphasizes the addition of missing barrier-free access to the metro, the creation of a sufficiently large paved area for social events, and the space in front of the school, which local children have not been able to use much until now.

Small Square on the Square

A key element of the southwestern section is the newly created small square with large-format paving in front of the church. Wide compacted gravel areas around the perimeter of the church’s forecourt will allow for peaceful relaxation on long rows of benches. In front of the school, a new paved open space has been created that connects seamlessly to the square. Thanks to this, children will be able to move around safely in front of their school.

Functionally, the designed space is divided into a quiet, relaxing eastern section and a social and representative western section. In the eastern half, the existing park area has been preserved and enhanced. A social area has been created in the western half of the square.

Reconstruction of the metro station as a prelude to the transformation

The local metro station underwent reconstruction between 2021 and 2024. The Prague Public Transit Company replaced the escalators, renovated the escalator tunnel and the concourse, and carried out a complete revitalization of the platform. Instead of fluorescent lights, you’ll find the original lighting in the suspended ceilings, just as it was when the station opened in the 1980s, refurbished legendary green-blue and gold aluminum cladding designed by Jaroslav Otruba, and cleaned stone paneling. And most importantly—there are no ads on the escalators! Another new feature is a unified information system that helps passengers navigate on the street, in the concourse, and on the platform. The station also has 5G and LTE mobile coverage. The station also features wheelchair-accessible elevators that lead to the square at Vinohradská Street. The metro station’s renovation was led by metro architect Anna Švarc.

Just look up

The largest square in Prague 3 was established in 1896. For a long time, it was called King George Square; it received its current name only in 1948. To this day, the square retains the character of a city park. Apartment buildings line its perimeter; their facades are well worth looking up at.

Take note, for example, of the building on the corner of Mánesova Street featuring a bust of Jiří z Poděbrad. Another significant building is the elementary school from 1913, which served as a municipal girls’ school starting in 1917. Just two years later, however, a boys’ elementary school was also established here; after 1948, it became an eight-year secondary school, and finally, starting in 1957, an elementary school. A prominent landmark of the square is the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, built between 1928 and 1932, just before the establishment of the nearby Hussite church by Pavel Janák.

The largest clock in the country

The first plans to build a church in Vinohrady date back to 1884. It was then that the women’s association Jednota sv. Elišky launched a fundraising campaign for it. The next—and this time decisive—step was the urban plan for the Královské Vinohrady district, which responded to the dynamic growth in the number of townhouses between 1919 and 1922. The only church in Vinohrady at the time, named after St. Ludmila, was overcrowded. The commission was awarded to the Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik, who was the chief architect of Prague Castle at the time. The monumental structure, built of exposed brick combined with a reinforced concrete skeleton, is characterized by an unusual shape inspired by Noah’s Ark and royal symbolism. This is reflected in the façade with protruding stones representing the royal ermine, or the dome at the top of the tower, which in turn refers to the royal orb. The church’s wide tower, standing an impressive 42 meters tall, houses a round clock with a diameter of 7.5 meters, which remains the largest in the Czech Republic to this day.