Vinohrady


Královské Vinohrady is a cadastral district in Prague. It is so named because the area was once covered in vineyards dating from the 14th century. Vinohrady lies in the municipal and administrative districts of Prague 2, Prague 3 and Prague 10, little parts also of Prague 1 and Prague 4.
Between 1788–1867 it was called Viničné Hory. From 1867 to 1968 it was called Královské Vinohrady. In 1875, Královské Vinohrady was divided into two parts, Královské Vinohrady I and Královské Vinohrady II, the part I was renamed to Žižkov and the part II to Královské Vinohrady in 1877. In 1922 Královské Vinohrady was made part of Prague as district XII. In 1949, the west part was conjoined with Prague 2 and the east part remain separate district Prague 12. In 1960, where Prague division was reduced from 16 to 10 administrative districts, the north part of Prague 12 was conjoined with Žižkov into Prague 3 and the south part was joined to Prague 10. Local patriots say that the real reason was that Královské Vinohrady was known as a "bourgeois" district and thus politically unreliable for the then-ruling Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
The historic part of Prague Main Railway Station is situated at the margin of Vinohrady. City Electric Tramway of Královské Vinohrady were a base of the Prague net of municipal electric tramway.

Description

The main east-west avenue of Vinohrady is Vinohradská Avenue leading from Wenceslas Square to Žižkov and Strašnice. Along this street stand headquarter building of Czech Radio, old Vinohrady Market Hall and Vinohrady Water Tower and several stations of Prague Metro Line A. Parallel to Vinohradská street, there is Slezská street, Korunní street and Francouzská street. Next south-north streets are narrower and surmount broken relief crosswise valleys.
The main square of west Vinohrady is "náměstí Míru" with Prague 2 town hall, Vinohrady Theatre, Gothic Revival Saint Ludmila Church and a station of A metro line. In the central part of Vinohrady near Vinohradská street, there lies "náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad" with a modern "Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord" by Jože Plečnik built in 1932. In Vinohrady is also situated center of the Czech gay scene, including a number of gay-friendly bars.
Famous Czech artists such as Jakub Schikaneder, Otto Gutfreund, Hugo Boettinger and Karel Špillar are buried in Vinohrady Cemetery.

Parks

There are several parks in Vinohrady. Havlíčkovy sady is Prague's second-largest park. Villa Gröbe served as summerhouse of the nobility, it is inspired by Italian Renaissance suburban villas and is surrounded by vineyards still in production, founded by Charles IV in the second half of the 14th century. The vineyards and the house deteriorated towards the end of the 20th century, but were renewed. The vineyards now have an area of 1.7 ha and annually produce 4000 liters of wine. There are grown varieties of Müller Thurgau, Rhine Riesling, Dornfelder, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, and since 1997 there are annual "Vinohrady vintage celebrations", usually in September.
In the north-west part of Vinohrady, near Italská street, are the Riegrovy sady with a great view over Prague, Vinohrady Sokol House and a large beer garden. Folimanka Park is situated at the Vinohrady side of Nusle Valley under the large Nusle Bridge. Smaller parks are situated in central Vinohrady: sady Svatopluka Čecha near Vinohradská street, Bezručovy sady between Slezská and Francouzská street and parks at all main Vinohrady squares.

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