I. P. Pavlova Railway station

Welcome to the heart of our city, a place where thousands of life stories are met every second. You are standing in the square, which serves as one of the most important points for the movement of people throughout Prague. Can you feel the constant energy, the constant current rolling around? You are at the border of two important parts of our city, where the old New Town meets the expanding Vinohradmi. It's a place that never sleeps, a place that keeps moving, and you're part of this great rhythm. In front of you is a space that can lead you deep beneath the surface of the earth into a world that has been built with great effort and vision of a modern city.

Let us now look together at how this place was created and what it is all about. This metro station is not just an ordinary stop point, it is a key transport hub that connects different parts of the metropolis. Her history began to be written on the ninth of May in a thousand nine hundred seventy-four, when the gates to this underground world first opened. Since then the station has become one of the most busy in the entire Prague metro system. Every day, she gets away with a huge number of people who use her to go to work, to school, to take a trip. The station bears the name of a great scientist, Ivan Petrovich Pavlov. Although his name may sound foreign, his contribution to science was huge and his legacy is perceived worldwide. This station thus serves as a small monument to human knowledge and scientific progress that takes place right under our feet.

Now I want to take you to what you see as you go deeper into this structure. This station is really deep, which is apparent from its overall form. It's a deep structure that needs to be extremely firm to carry the weight of everything above it. Notice the pillars that will accompany you on your descent. They're six-sided. This geometry gives the space a unique sense of stability while creating an interesting visual rhythm that follows you the whole way. These pillars are not just elements, they are pillars of the underground world itself. Although in the year two thousand and fifteen, the station underwent a major reconstruction to be fully barrier-free and accessible to everyone, regardless of its physical ability to move, its basic architecture and its depth are preserved. This modernization has ensured that everyone can access this underground world, which is absolutely essential at present.

If you enter the main area now, or the lobby, please pay attention to the details that are hidden from the eyes of ordinary passengers. If you stop, you can see the relief that's being exposed here. But they're not any creatures. You'll see a couple of lions there. These lions aren't just an ornament, they're pilgrims from history. They come from a baroque fortification that once protected New Town. It is a fascinating connection, when a piece of old, historical Prague, its fortifications and protective elements, was transferred to this modern, underground environment. It's like history is whispering directly into the ear of a modern person who's just passing through this space quickly.

And what if you look up now, towards the escalators? There's something waiting for you that can really surprise you and lead you out of anticipation. Above the escalators is an illustration from an artist named Kateřina Bažantová. If you look at her closely, you'll see something very unusual. Instead of ordinary people traveling to work, you'll see characters that are depicted as human-looking dogs. They are anthropomorphic beings, i.e. creatures that have human properties and behavior, but their appearance is dog. It's a surrealist view of everyday life, of the constant movement of people moving around. This work forces you to stop, to think, and maybe even smile a little bit about how unusual the view of the world can be when we look at it from a different angle.

The site also has its own, a little mysterious and film side. You might think you've seen this place somewhere, maybe in a movie. You're right. It was in this very lobby that the scenes from the Czech scientific and fantastic film called Tomorrow I will get up and I will roast with tea. Imagine the atmosphere where this modern, underground space became a scene for stories about the future and things that transcend us. This film history gives the place another layer of mystery and reminds us that even this common place can be part of something much bigger and more interesting.

Now that you've been through this short journey of history, architecture and art, you have a much broader idea of this place. It's not just a subway station anymore, it's a place full of symbols, from ancient lions to scientific names to unusual art creatures. I suggest you continue your journey and keep looking around. Prague is filled with hidden treasures waiting to be discovered. Maybe you'll find another detail that you missed, or you'll just enjoy the constant movement of life that's so strong in this place. Thank you for spending this moment with us and for choosing to explore this space. We wish you a pleasant journey and many other interesting experiences in your further discovery of our beautiful city.