Palác Koruna - HISTORY

History in 19th century

Koruna Palace was built on premises of three town houses, these plots of land were delineated with founding of the New Town of Prague in 1348. Two or three floor buildings, before their demolition in 1912, had baroque facades modified in 19th century. The lower part of Wenceslas Square was always more busy than the upper part, thanks to closeness of the Old Town, it showed in the heights and decorations of local buildings. The only one preserved till these days is U Zlatého úlu house at Můstek.

U Špinků house at the corner of Wenceslas Square with the typical tower and baroque dormer-windows was probably one of the oldest house soft he Old Town. Originaly there was a brewery and stablest here. Renowned Vienna coffee shop in rococo style with the first pool table in Prague was opened at the begining of the 20th century. The shop of Hynek Gottwald, one of the pioneers of metal furniture in Bohemia, was located there since 1899.

1914 - Building of Koruna Palace was completed

A building permit for Koruna Palace was issued by the Municipal Authority of Prague on 24 April 1912. On a large plot and at a high-profile location, a splendid palace in the late Art Nouveau style was gradually given rise to. The building’s reinforced concrete skeleton structure had several wings, a threestorey underground and six above-ground floors with an attic. Acceptance procedure was carried out gradually in stages. Dates of acceptance inspections are somewhat contradictory, nevertheless, the final completion date can be considered March 7th, 1914, when the building was granted permit for use.

An unique photo taken in the course of construction of the modern palace; it shows the now forgotten wooden scaffolding and necessary everydayladders; around the site, however, the normal daily life of the people of Prague is pulsating.

1924 - A steam bath was opened

Koruna Palace also included a spa, which on certain days was open only for men and on other days only for women; above the spa was a luxuriously furnished beauty salon – today we would call it a cosmetic salon and it would probably be very expensive.

The spa was a part of the overall design of air conditioning the building. It was an integral component of the architectural solution and in no way disturbed the character of the building. In the various spa rooms, air had to be exchange datleast five times per hour. The spa was closed in 1975.

1930 - Audio system was installed in the Koruna Palace Cinema

A rare view of the former Cinema KORUNA done in cubist style and designed by Ladislav Machoň. These photos are the evidence of the fact that Koruna Palace shortly after its erection was not only an administrative and commercial centre, but also a centre of culture.

Its opening took place on 23 October 1914 and the cinema had 470 seats. In 1930, Cinema Koruna put in sound equipment. After the war, the cinema was renamed to “ČAS – KORUNA. The operation of Cinema Koruna ended in the 1950s.

1931 - Automat Koruna was opened

One of the most famous moments in the modern history of Koruna Palace was the construction and operation of the so-called AUTOMAT KORUNA, the first selfservice vending machine in Prague; almost everyone had visited this renowned fast food restaurant at least once; AUTOMAT belonged to a chain of fast food stands and milk bars.

Automat Koruna went through various modifications; its equipment was simple and austere, while effective for fast food; the photo shows food preparation and it is one of the few preserved photographs of the actual automat according to which it was named.

The photo shows the Automat logo symbolizing a waiter lying down, meaning that no waiter is needed in the restaurant since everything works automatically.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Automat Koruna was quite well-equipped; this was necessary because serving thousands of people each day must have no easy feat; for that reason, also the name AUTOMAT used for fast food was justified; also counters and bars, at which meals and drinks were served, had to have a pretty long operating life.

At the height of its glory in the early 1990s and shortly before its closure, Automat Koruna had 790 m2 of retail space and 240 employees. Everyday, 10,000 people had a bite to eat and there were 13 types of 5,000 canapés sold, five types of 400 kg delicatessen salads, 4,000 cakes and 7,000 pastries. There were 23 kind of main courses along with hot and cold smoked snacks, such as sausages and salami, grilled chicken, etc.

1978 - Můstek metro station was opened

The area in front of Koruna Palace in the 1970s when it belonged to TECHNOEXPORT, a foreign trade enterprise; the building could not avoid the
necessary reconstruction nor construction of the Prague metro.

The photo shows remnants of the historic arches.

1996 - Koruna Palace was reopened to the public after reconstruction

Koruna Palace was fully reopened to visitors and customers on 5 September 1996. This extensive renovation reportedly amounted to 380 million CZK. Along with many other stores, Megastore Bontonland, the biggest store in Central Europe selling CDs, MC cassettes and video cassettes, was opened in the underground premises of the palace on 5 September, 1996 at 4 p.m. It takes up an area of approximately 2,200 sqm.

Koruna Palace – beauty in detail

Equally impressive as the exterior is the interior of this historical monument; the photo shows an octagonal glass cupola; individual parts are separated from one another by geometric Art Nouveau patterns and a valuable floor-lined mosaic gently flows with the overall concept of the interior; the interior also contained the original metal chandelier. Currently, however, the chandelier is not there.

The exterior of Koruna Palace is dominated by the towering top of the building, culminating in a crown-shaped attribute expressing its name; the tower is decorated with strictly symmetrically placed statues of massive figures in flowing togas with hoods over their heads; it is the allegoric work of Stanislav Sucharda and the most beautiful example of pure Art Nouveau style.

The inscription on the north side of the towering corner of the Koruna Palace building, which was built by the First Czech General Joint Stock
Company for Life Insurance, still holds true; even today it clearly reminds us that the future must be thought of at every age; in this respect, such a message applies not only to the present day.
ONLY LIFE INSURANCE IS PROOF OF
LOVE TO FAMILY, GUARANTEEING TO
MULTIPLY YOUR ASSETS AND
A PILLAR OF OLD AGE.

A collection of details of architectural ingenuity and skill of Czech builders and artisans of various professions.