Strakova akademie / Straka Academy (Prague) - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

Monumental neo-Baroque complex of Strakova akademie (Straka Academy), former dormitory for impoverished children of the Czech nobility, nowadays is the seat of the Government of the Czech Republic.

The Straka Academy building was built in 1891–1896 based on the project of the architect Václav Roštlapil. Originally, the building was used as a student´s hostel, especially for poor sons of Czech noble families. The premises of the Academy also involve a garden, which was founded thanks to František Thomayer. In the period of WW1 the Academy fell under the organization of the Red Cross. The Red Cross founded a hospital in the premises with the capacity of 470 beds. The hospital was cancelled in 1918.

The independent Czechoslovakia was founded at that time and the new republic used the premises of the academy for offices and state needs. The institutions of the Civil Services were moved into the complex, namely the Ministry of Supply, Ministry of National Defension and the Statistical Office. After WW2 the building served for the purposes of the government again. At that time the Office of the Prime Minister moved into the building with the first Czech after-war Prime Minister Zdenek Fierlinger. The Czech Government Office has been residing in the building of the Academy since 1993.

Strakova akademie je eklekticky novobarokní budova na levém brehu Vltavy na Malé Strane v Praze. Byla vystavena v letech 1891–1896 podle návrhu architekta Václava Roštlapila. Pod kupolí jsou umísteny sochy od Josefa Maudra. Puvodne byl objekt využíván jako studentská kolej nemajetných synu ceské šlechty. V soucasnosti je sídlem vlády Ceské republiky. K budove Strakovy akademie patrí i zahrada, vybudovaná pod dohledem Františka Thomayera. [Czech Wikipedia]