I. všeobecná poliklinika Kladno Hospital

Welcome to Kladno. Right now, when you're standing in this important place where two important roads intersect, Freedom Square and the street towards the hospital, you have a building in front of you that will immediately capture your view with its size and presence. You're standing right in front of the first general clinic. Look at this massive structure. Its two wings extend as a solid foundation of the entire square and its corner position gives the strong impression that this object is an essential part of the city. Feel the weight and stability that this building radiates, although at first glance it may seem that its shapes are very dynamic and restless.

Let us now return to the time when this story began to be written. Imagine the year one thousand nine hundred twenty-two. The world and our countries were going through huge changes, and Kladno was a city that was growing strongly at the time. That's when the proposal came to change the face of this corner of town. Architect Václav Stádník created a vision of a building that wasn't just a house, but was meant to serve people. Originally, this building was intended for the needs of the county sickness fund and for social care. This means that from the very beginning, this building had an unhidden human dimension and served as a support for citizens in their most urgent moments. The work on it began and already in the year one thousand nine hundred thirty-xtytro the construction was completed and officially accepted for use. It was a period of optimism and efforts to acquire modern services for the general public.

Now pay attention to what you see right in front of you on the very faces of this building. If you look at her facade, you'll see it's not ordinary at all. This building is an excellent example of how beauty and form were thought about at the time. The architecture you see here bears the strong features of cubism. This is a style that avoids simple, boring surfaces and instead works with geometric shapes, sharp lines and a game of light and shadow on the decorative facade. It is very likely that another important architect, Rudolf Černý, also cooperated on this art processing. Feel the shapes that seem to be in constant motion, even if they are made of stone and walls. There is also a visible influence of Czech modernity, namely the so-called Arc style, which gives the whole building special elegance and fluency. This combination of geometric force and fine curves creates something that is absolutely unique to our architecture of the time.

When you look at the massive corner part, maybe you don't realize one very fascinating thing that happened deep beneath your feet. The builders who founded this building in the 1920s had to face a huge challenge. Kladno is a city with a history of mining, and that means that the terrain on which this clinic stands was very problematic. There were cavities below the surface and the risk of submining, which meant that the soil was not as solid as it might seem. So the whole construction process was a constant struggle with country instability. Engineers and workers had to design the foundation and method of construction so that the building would not begin to bend or collapse in the future. It is a fascinating idea that this monumental structure, which looks so firm, was built on such a fragile and restless foundation.

But this story didn't stop in a thousand nine hundred and three. The building has evolved over the years and adapted to the needs of the city. If you look at the corner part that you're looking at right now, you might notice that between 1,000 and forty-one this part of the building was deliberately increased by one floor. This modification has added even greater height and strength to the construction that you feel today. This whole transformation shows how the building lived and how it changed along with the entire Kladno. And it is precisely because of how powerful and artistically valuable this building was, in the year one thousand nine hundred fifty-eight, it was officially declared a protected monument. This means that its beauty and its history are now protected to be seen by future generations.

When you look at this object, you can't realize how important it is to protect pieces of history that tell us about how people cared about their loved ones and how they tried for beauty even in practical buildings. This clinic is not just a walled-up structure, it is a witness to times that have long since gone, but their trail is still very much alive here.

I hope that this brief insight into the history of the first general clinic has enriched you and that you will now look at this building with a slightly different, deeper look. It is a place where technical courage, artistic feeling and social responsibility are combined. Continue walking around the square now, discover the next corner of Kladna and enjoy the atmosphere of this city. Thank you for your attention and I wish you the rest of the day.