Občanská plovárna Swimming pool

Welcome to Holešovice. You are standing in front of a building with a fascinating story about water, health and the social life of old Prague. The Občanská plovárna stands before you. When you look at it today, you may perceive the atmosphere of a modern city, but let us try to go back in time together to understand the importance this place once meant to thousands of Prajans.

Let's first look at how this journey began. You may imagine that swimming was always fun, but at this point it was much more practical at first. The military swimming pool was established here in the year eight hundred eleven. The Arnošt z Pfuolu was behind its creation. At that time, it was mainly about teaching the army to swim because the ability to control the river was essential for the soldiers. Vltava was the main artery of the city, but also a dangerous place.

Over time, however, it has become clear that the need for swimming is not only a matter for soldiers, but for all citizens. And so came a major breakthrough. On July 7th, a thousand eight hundred and forty were opened by Občanská plovárna. It became a public swimming pool where ordinary people could go. Imagine the enthusiasm at that time when the Prague people could finally be legally and organically cooling in summer heat.

Now pay attention to the appearance of the building itself. Notice her style, which is called Classicism. It's a style that bets on balance, purity of lines, and a certain grandeur. The architect who designed this look was Josef Kranner. When you examine the facade, you realize that this building basically served as a background. That's the most interesting detail you could miss today. People used to change and relax in the building, but swimming itself didn't happen in the concrete pool, as we are used to today.

Try looking towards the Vltava River now. Imagine huge rafts floating in that water. The swimming pools were located on these winds. It was a brilliant solution to your time. People came out of the building, entered the water on a floating structure, and they could swim there. The swimming pool was in direct contact with the river, but at the same time separated the swimming from the currents and dirt.

As time passed, the swimming pool grew along with the city. In the year a thousand eight hundred seventy six restaurants and dresses were added to make the visitors more comfortable. Swimming has become a social event. People didn't just spend time here practicing, but also talking and having lunch together. In the year one thousand nine hundred and six, the swimming pool was purchased by the Prague Association, which confirmed its irreplaceable importance for the whole city.

Interesting personalities are also associated with this place. In addition to the already mentioned Centurion Arnost of Pfuol, who started here, names like Marie Manriquezová de Lara or Marek Eben appear in connection with the swimming pool. They are figures that form a wider mosaic of the history of this space and its surroundings.

Now I want to take you to one of the real interesting things that may sound incredible. When you see this building today and the surrounding urban development, it's hard to imagine that in the year of a thousand and six hundred, long before the swimming pool, there was a large garden in this place. Imagine the contrast. Where the classicist building stands today, and where the boats with swimming pools used to sail, there once flowered trees and spread out green at a time when Prague was much smaller.

Občanská plovárna was an important centre of recreation and swimming lessons until the 1960s. It was an era where swimming in the river was the peak of the summer season. With the advancing time, however, time changed, modern pools with filtration arose and floating rafts in the river stopped being practical and hygienic standards.

You won't find swimmers in swimsuits or chlorine in the building today. The building has adapted to new times. At present, the area serves as a casino and the place where television shows are filmed. It's a fascinating transformation of functions. From military teaching to public swimming pools to modern entertainment and media. Yet the box itself, the Classicist building, is a witness to history.

Now, if you look at the building again, think of it as a bridge between centuries. You see in it a mirror of social development. From the need to survive in the river, to the desire for health and hygiene, to today's need for fun.

I wish you, looking at this object, to keep an idea of the floating winds on the Vltava and the sounds of the thousands of people who were coming here in the summer days to escape the heat of the streets of Prague.

This concludes a short stop at the Civic Floater. I invite you to explore Holešovice and their hidden corners. We wish you a pleasant continuation of your trip to Prague. Goodbye.