Psychiatrická nemocnice Bohnice Hospital building

Psychiatrická nemocnice Bohnice is a generously conceived Art Nouveau area of 64 hectares. He grew up in the years 1903 to 1916 on a green meadow in Prague - Božnice according to the design of architect Václav Roštápil. The dominance of this historical complex is the church of St. Wenceslas and the main administrative building, which resembles a Baroque castle. The facilities were designed as the most modern and largest of their kind in Austria-Hungary. Today it is used to treat psychiatric diseases and its large park is fully open to the public.

In the early 20th century, the development of industrialization took place in Czech countries. This brought a deterioration of the social conditions of the population and a growing need for beds, especially in Prague. The Regional Committee of the Kingdom of the Czech Republic therefore decided by order of 12 November 1903 to build a new institution for the insane. For this purpose he bought a large estate with fields and adjacent Chimikých grove in Božnice near Prague. The establishment started as a branch of the Prague Institute in Charles. In 1904, the first patients who performed auxiliary work arrived here. On 28 April 1909 a separate Royal Czech Regional Institute for the insane in Bohemia was established.

Construction of the whole complex took place between 1906 and 1912. A total of 28 treatment pavilions and a number of operating objects grew back then. The architectural design of the administrative building, church and villas in the southern part was prepared by Václav Roštlapil. The Pavilion system allowed exceptional differentiation of patients for their period according to the nature of their difficulties. It included quiet patients, bedpans, infectious operations, and criminal offenders. The components of the complex consisted of a power plant, water jams, service stations of utility water from Vltava and economic facilities. Thanks to this, the Institute was designed as a self-sufficient town.

The object was owned by the Regional Committee of the Kingdom of Bohemia. The first director became MUDr. Jan Hraše, after which the management was taken over by MUDr. Bohuslav Hellich. During the First World War, some pavilions served as a military Lazaret, for example for evacuated mentally ill Italian Trident. The number of patients increased temporarily to 2 186 at the time. Between the two world wars, capacity expanded further and in 1938 the institution reached a historical maximum of 2,567 patients. During the Nazi occupation between 1939 and 1945, the care slowed down and the area received people from the damaged hospital in Dobrány and from the abolished institution in German Brod.

The key element of functioning was the initial involvement of patients in the work process. They worked in agriculture, horticulture, park maintenance, kitchen or workshop, which was of great therapeutic importance. There was also a music choir and later a theatre. The village Bohnice itself became part of Prague in 1922. In folk language the word Bohnice began to be used as a symbolic term for a mental institution or psychiatric institution.

At present, the complex offers comprehensive care for the mental health of adults, children and seniors as well as treatment of addiction. The theatre Behind the fence, the V. column club and the sociotherapy farm are located in the premises of the original farm, which provides working therapy and hipotherapy. The architecturally valuable pavilions are planted in a grown park. It is freely accessible to the public and provides a quiet environment for walks.

A visit to this historic area reveals a unique combination of a generous urban plan of the early 20th century, a quality Art Nouveau architecture and a still functioning therapeutic environment. Walking through the park offers a unique opportunity to know the place that has been serving its original purpose for generations, while forming an integral part of the cultural landscape of Prague.