Holešovice: Through a revived neighbourhood of former factories and docks

Difficulty Rating:  Moderate
Route Length: 3,6 km
Download: Four Accessible Walks in Prague 2

The terrain along the whole route is quite problemfree. Apart from rare exceptions, the surface of the paths and sidewalks is flat pavement or asphalt with no serious jaggedness or damage. All the crosswalks have modified curbs with a slightly steeper incline, rough cobblestones occur only at the crossings of the streets Jateční and Komunardů. Also, there is rough cobblestone pavement in the yards of the Prague Market and Holešovice Town Brewery, but these can be easily avoided. Given the relatively good accessibility of the marked sites, instead of a personal assistant we recommend simply a good companion to enjoy a cup of fine coffee or a glass of local beer together.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION

|→ Prague Market → Tusarova Street → Osadní Street → DOX Centre for Contemporary Art

We start this walk through a Prague neighbourhood that combines dynamic modern architecture with a clear footprint of its industrial past at the accessible Tusarova tram stop with a Vienna-style boarding platform. From here we set out along Jateční Street towards the north entrance to the large complex of the Prague Market (Pražská tržnice). Although right at the entrance to the inner yard we encounter a jagged cobblestone surface, the place is worth visiting. The buildings with Art Nouveau and Neo-Renaissance elements served as slaughterhouses until the 1980s. The current use as a market place makes the site diverse and full of character – it includes a large food and alcohol market, stalls selling cheap clothing as well as a wide assortment of electronics and gastronomic equipment. It embraces alternative projects, too – we can stop by a fully accessible art café Jatka 78, which focuses on new circus and alternative theatre, or the vegetable market in the beautiful Art Nouveau Hall 22 (mind a somewhat steep ramp at the entrance – slope 13.5%, width 360 cm, length 270 cm).

We leave the complex by the north entrance again. Using the adjacent crosswalk with lowered curbs we cross Jateční Street, along which we continue to the modern structure of commercial and office buildings ArtGen. There we can find not only a small park to relax but also occasional exhibitions. Passing between the buildings we come to Tusarova Street and head east along the right sidewalk past the residential blocks built in a playful Rondocubist style. At the third crossroads we turn left and find ourselves on the quiet Osadní Street, where only few former factory buildings nestled in between blocks of flats from the 1920s and modern structures are the reminders of its one-time bustle. A successful synthesis of old and new appears at No. 35 called Ham Factory. The extensive renovation of the previously long time neglected inner courtyard breathed a new life into the former Josef Jeřábek Prague HamFactory founded at the end of the 19th century. The conversion of the site into a multi-purpose building with a café, studios, flats and offices is the work of the successful design studio Olgoj Chorchoj.

At the intersection with the street U Průhonu, we cross the street using the accessible crosswalk with lowered curbs and continue to another noteworthy project. The former Rossemann and Kühnemann Machine Factory, which also prodused Avia aircraft in the 1920s, was neglected for a long time until, at the beginning of the new millennium, the bleak and dilapidated building was transformed into a clean, minimalistic modern art gallery, DOX. The building not only offers interesting exhibitions, but also a stylish café, a book shop and a design shop. Not-to-be-overlooked attraction of the centre is the 40-metres long wooden Gulliver Airship located on the roof. Though the structure itself is not accessible by
wheelchaired, the charm of its steel-and-wooden structure can be admired from the outdoor terrace of the gallery café.

→ Holešovice Town Brewery → Holešovice Harbour →

From DOX we head to lively Komunardů Street, where we encounter the cultural heritage site Holešovice Town Brewery (Holešovický měšťanský pivovar). It dates back to the end of the 19th century and beer was brewed there until 1998. Since the recent historicallysensitive renovations, it has served as an office and residential complex and the exterior design of the building is worth seeing. Entering from the direction of U Průhonu Street we cross its large courtyard to the street U Uranie. The yard is paved with cobblestones with significantly wide gaps – however, the Town Brewery complex can be bypassed by the streets U Průhonu and Na Maninách.

We cross U Uranie Street using the accessible crosswalk and face another office and commercial complex Classic 7, which stands for another good example of a revived old building. The paths criss-crossing the area of the former Holešovice Steam Mill have good surface made of various materials shifting from concrete to wooden grates and traditional mosaic paving. Leaving the wooden terrace we take the paved sidewalk with a lateral incline (7.5%) down to the glass building labelled L and continue alongside its facade to Jankovcova Street.

Taking the closest crosswalk at the intersection with the street U Parního mlýna, we head through the passage of the Prague Marina residential complex to another distinct part of Holešovice – the harbour. The whole harbour is artificial and originally served as a protective and winter port, and only later as a commercial harbour. In 1906 a railway marshalling yard was built nearby. In the same year most of the surviving one-storey buildings were built, distinctive with their sectioned facades. In the 1990s the harbour ceased operating as a commercial port and, consequently, in 2005 the train tracks were torn out.

We turn right and a sidewalk with flat concrete paving takes us along the dead-end branch of the Vltava River to the functional Marina Brewery in the impressively renovated building of the former port customs offi ce. Sitting in the outside beer garden may be a charming experience, especially when weather is nice.

→ Přístavní Street → Dělnická Street → Vnitroblock →|

Wandering through the streets of Holešovice neighbourhood, we slowly come back to the starting point of the route – using fl at sidewalks and accessible crosswalks we pass the streets U Průhonu, V Háji, Přístavní and Na Maninách. Coming to Dělnická, we turn right and cross the street with tram tracks at the crosswalk to the south sidewalk. We cross Komunardů Street using an accessible crosswalk, but here we must go over the tram tracks again.

Just a few metres past the intersection – on the left side of Dělnická Street - there is the entrance to Vnitroblock (the name is derived from the word for „inner courtyard“) – a unique industrial space that, in addition to a stylish café, offers a number of interesting cultural events during the year. A large complex stretching between two streets and connecting them at the same time is designed as barrier-free, with the exception of the unroofed outdoor courtyard, whose concrete surface is damaged in some places.

However, this minor obstruction, betraying the locale‘s past as a factory for beer-cooling-equipment, can easily be overcome with a personal assistance. We pass through Vnitroblock to Tusarova Street, where we head back to the tram stop at the very beginning of the route.

While waiting for the tram, let’s take a last look back. Right by the place we are standing, there is one of the most original buildings of Holešovice’s industrial past. The interwar factory owned by the successful entreprenour Adolf Pleskot and producing water gauges now houses the atelier of his equally esteemed great-nephew, architect Josef Pleskot. His profesional efforts to preserve the beauty of old buildings fi nd a near-symbolic expression right here, in the Holešovice environment.

Recommended Landmarks on the Route

Jatka 78 Café
Bubenské nábřeží 13, Prague 7, www.jatka78.cz

• rough paving in the vicinity
• access through main entrance (single-leaf door: width 113 cm)
• levelling ramp inside (16% slope)
• sufficient manoeuvring room inside
• passages: minimum width of 80 cm
• adjusted toilet on the ground floor in Men‘s section (sliding door width 110 cm; cabin: width 271 cm, depth 134 cm)
  
  

DOX Centre for Contemporary Art
Poupětova 793/1, Prague 7, www.dox.cz

• access through main entrance (double-leaf automatic door: minimum width of 100 cm)
• sufficient manoeuvring room inside
• passages: minimum width of 80 cm
• front building lift (automatic door width 138 cm; cage width 200 cm, depth 144 cm) connecting ground floor up to 4th floor
• rear building lift (automatic door width 90 cm; cage width 110 cm, depth 209 cm) connecting ground floor up to 2nd floor
• two accessible toilets on the ground floor (WC 1: door width 92 cm, cabin width 204 cm, depth 164 cm; WC 2: door width 92 cm, cabin width 189 cm, depth 164 cm)
  
  

Marina Brewery
Jankovcova 1059/12, Prague 7, www.pivovarmarina.cz

• access through main entrance (double-leaf door: width 2 x 80 cm)
• sufficient manoeuvring room inside
• passages: minimum width of 80 cm
• partially accessible toilet on the ground floor (door width 90 cm; cabin width 140 cm, depth 145 cm)
  
  

Vnitroblock Café
Tusarova 791/31, Prague 7, www.vnitroblock.cz

• access through main entrance (double-leaf automatic doors: minimum width 100 cm)
• sufficient manoeuvring room inside
• passages: minimum width of 80 cm
• partially accessible toilet on the ground floor (door width 80 cm; cabin width 203 cm, depth 140 cm)
• uneven floor surface
  
  

Detailed descriptions of the accessibility of the recommended and other properties on the route can be found at pragueaccessibilitymap.eu.