Invalidovna - Prague, Czech Republic - Picture Perfect Postcards on Waymarking.com

Its model was Les Invalides, a building for veterans inaugurated in Paris in 1679. Only a ninth of the original design was ever completed. At most, about 1200 inmates lived there. In 1935, all inhabitants moved to another "invalidovna", at Horice, and the building was used by the Czech army. After this, it was used as an army archive. The building was damaged by a large flood in 2002, and most of the archive materials were destroyed. The building currently awaits an expensive reconstruction. One possible future use is as an open space for culture and social life.

The official directive to build the "Invalidovna" was decreed by the Emperor Charles VI on May 27th 1728 and during the following two years the most renowned Baroque architect of the Czech lands, Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, worked on the design for the building, assisted by Austrian architect Josef Emanuel Fischer of Erlach, who was the author of the ground plan. The initial plans were grandiose indeed. The structure was to have nine square based segments with an extensive central courtyard and church. Apart from accommodation for the invalids, the complex was supposed to function as a self-contained small town with a network of shops, a hospital and maternity ward, a school and several workshops. The surrounding area was to be landscaped and a new cemetery founded. As a result of these over-ambitious plans, a shortage of funds for the project soon became manifest and the time scale for its completion stretched into decades.
In 1737, when the construction work finished, only one of the nine planned buildings was completed. The exterior was less ornate than anticipated and the church scaled down to the Chapel of St Cross. Some shops and a modest hospital did function within the "Invalidovna" complex. Nearby the building there was a park and a parade and exercise ground with an army shooting range. A bust of Count Petr Strozzi was unveiled in front of the "Invalidovna" in 1898 in honour of the building's founder.
The "Invalidovna" served its designated purpose until 1935, when the war wounded were moved into new premises in the town of Horice. The complex was converted into a Military Museum, which later became a Technical Museum. The latter's collections and archive were completely removed from the building after the devastating floods in August 2002. The Baroque structure was left to deteriorate until 2009, when the extensive reconstruction commenced.

Physical Address: Prague, Czech Republic Related Web Site: [Web Link] Description of Postcard Location: Invalidovna Parking Coordinates: Not Listed

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