Městská spořitelna (Jilemnice) Savings bank building

The former City Savings Bank in Jilemnice is a representative Art Nouveau building with elements of pseudorenesance. It was completed in 1911 according to the design of architect Jan Vejhěk. The object served as an important financial centre that actively supported local development and culture. Today it represents a significant architectural dominant of the elemonic square.

The predecessor of today's construction was a storey garb that died in a large fire in 1838. The inn U Lva, later renamed U White Rose, grew up in its place. In this house, a soprano Marie Laušmannová was born in 1855. The savings bank itself was established in Jilemnice in 1888 on the initiative of Mayor František X. Jerie. The institution was initially located in non-compliant premises, which led to a decision to build its own seat. In 1909, the savings bank purchased a inn at the White Rose and a nearby house no. 141. These objects were demolished to make room for a new building.

The architectural design of Jan Vejhěk materialized the corner one-storey house on a rectangular floor plan. The construction combines Art Nouveau curvature with pseudorenesance elements. The main corner facade is topped and equipped with a tripod with an outlay, entrance and decorated triangular shield. The dominant is the corner tower with double onion, gargoyles and decorative poppy. The roof and the tower are covered with shale. The façade is decorated with stucco painted champagne and figural motifs of the boy and girl in folk costumes. The side facade divides decorative shields with sov and bay plastic. In the interior there are paintings of authors Jan Leo and Vladimir Hraby.

Traffic in the new building started in November 1911. The institution played a key role in the development of the city. It financed the construction of an orphanage, an economic school, cooperative houses in Sporilov, an extension of the gymnasium, a hospital and a weaving school. After 1945 the savings bank was nationalized and incorporated into the State Savings Bank. The building subsequently served various purposes; There was, for example, a municipal library, a clothing shop or exhibition space. After 1990, the building became owned by Česká spořitelna, which left it in 2005. Since then, the building has been owned by JILEMNICE HOTEL, s.r.o. and remains largely unused and decaying.

Literary history also binds to the memory. Shortly after World War I, the writer Jaroslav Havlicek worked here. He returned to the environment of the savings house in his work, for example in the novel Petrolej lamp or in unfinished Wolf skin. In January 2021, the local community of MY WORLD, which placed informative signs on the windows and doors, highlighted the dismal situation.

Today, the building is inaccessible to the public, except for a small part of the ground floor, where the city information centre works. Although the object shows signs of decay and its future remains the subject of discussions about possible reconstruction, architectural details and historical significance make it an unoverlooked part of the urban monument zone. Visiting the square offers the opportunity to look at this Art Nouveau building from the outside and appreciate its craftsmanship, which is a testament to the city's ambition and prosperity in the early 20th century.