Hotel Prague CityThree houses · Žižkov · est. in old Prague
Historic postcard of Štítného street, Žižkov
History

A neighbourhood with a story

Žižkov

From vineyards to the liveliest quarter of Prague

The slopes below Vítkov Hill were covered with vineyards until the 19th century, when Žižkov grew almost overnight into a proud working-class town — named after Jan Žižka, the one-eyed Hussite general who defeated a crusader army on the hill above in 1420. An independent city from 1881, Žižkov joined Greater Prague in 1922, bringing with it its tenement houses, its tramlines, and more pubs per street than anywhere else in the city.

Our three houses — Štítného 13, Cimburkova 14 and 15 — were built during that great expansion, and they have been welcoming people ever since. Below is the neighbourhood as our guests would have found it decades ago, photographed from the very same spots today.

Colour postcard of Štítného street, Žižkov, early 1900s Štítného ulice · postcard, early 1900s
Then & now

The same streets, a century apart

Historic photographs of the streets around the hotel, re-photographed from the same viewpoints.

Restaurace U Štítného, just next door to the hotel, 1929
1929
Restaurace U Štítného, just next door to the hotel, 2013
2013

Restaurace U Štítného, just next door to the hotel

The corner restaurant photographed with its regulars in 1929 — and still pouring Czech beer under the name U Tomáše Štítného today.

Seifertova street with the tram line, c. 1900
c. 1900
Seifertova street with the tram line, 2013
2013

Seifertova street with the tram line

Žižkov's main artery, then served by horse-drawn and early electric trams — the same tracks still carry lines 5, 9 and 26 past the hotel.

Cimburkova street — our own street, 1964
1964
Cimburkova street — our own street, 2013
2013

Cimburkova street — our own street

In the 1960s much of Žižkov stood neglected; today the same houses are restored. The HOTEL sign on the right marks our own street — two of our three houses stand right here on Cimburkova.

The square below the hotel, c. 1900
c. 1900
The square below the hotel, 2013
2013

The square below the hotel

A formal garden square in the 1900s, still a green corner of the neighbourhood over a century later.

Cimburkova street during road repairs, 1964
1964
Cimburkova street, 2013
2013

Cimburkova under repair

The cobbles were being relaid in 1964 — the same Cimburkova, caught on an ordinary working day.

Towards the church of St Procopius, 1964
1964
Towards the church of St Procopius, 2014
2014

Towards the church of St Procopius

The corner laundry ('Prádlenka') is now a minimarket, but the view up to the neo-gothic church has not changed.

Looking towards Vítkov Hill, 1970
1970
Looking towards Vítkov Hill, 2014
2014

Looking towards Vítkov Hill

The green slope of Vítkov closes the view then as now — five minutes on foot from the hotel.

Corner house destroyed in the February 1945 air raid on PragueColourised view of the same damaged house, 1945
1945
The same corner today — the plot now serves as the hotel parking lot
today

The corner that was never rebuilt

In February 1945 an American air raid meant for Dresden struck Prague by mistake, and the house on this corner was destroyed. The plot was never built on again — today, of all things, it serves as our hotel's secure parking lot. Hover over the 1945 photograph and it comes to life in colour.

Moments

One more chapter

Žižkov main street with tram tracks, around 1900
Žižkov's main street with its first tram tracks, around 1900.

Three of those houses now welcome guests

Sleep in a piece of Žižkov's history — ten minutes from the Old Town.

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