The Directorate of ČSD in Hradec Králové
(today Police Headquarters of the Czech Republic)
The building of the Directorate of State Railways is located on the southern side of Ulrich Square and occupies the entire block between this and the Church of Saint Ambrose. A double block, occupying the entire length of the square, is connected perpendicularly to two halls, from which access to office room sections is available on both sides. At the ends, the hall sections are connected by a single-block connecting building with a side staircase. The sections facing the square and the rear are three stories high, while the halls are four stories high. Attached to the building is a residential building for senior officials, connected on the first floor by a communication corridor to the official building. In the basement of the building, there are shops in the section facing the square, while the remaining basement comprises storage rooms and archives in the section under the halls, as well as central heating, ventilation, and a coal storage. The other floors contain the offices of the Directorate of State Railways. The main entrance to the building is from the center of the square through a spacious columned vestibule, from which access is gained to the halls via balancing staircases on both sides. Each hall has a main staircase to the upper floors and a paternoster.
The construction is a reinforced concrete frame with infill brickwork. The building is completely plastered, and the pillars of the facade on the ground floor are lined with Šluknov sienite. The portal is clad in the same material with a sculptural relief by sculptor Bedřich Stefan. The vestibule is lined with colored polished glass, and its front wall is glazed with cathedral glass featuring figurative decorations by painter Josef Kaplický. The floors in the corridors and halls are made of chamotte tiles with small mosaics. The office furnishings of the directorate and the meeting rooms with waiting areas are designed according to special plans. The heating of the building is centralized warm water, with the halls being heated and ventilated by a circulation of warm air of a capacity of 400 I 40° C/min. The hot water distribution is copper, and consumption is measured by water meters for each apartment individually, along with a control water meter before the reservoir. All fittings, both plumbing and central heating, are made of either black or red cast iron.
The building of the Directorate of State Railways was part of the urban-architectural composition of Ulrich Square according to the concept of architect Josef Gočár. It is a constructivist building with a pronounced spatial element of the portico halls, realized between 1928 and 1932 according to the author's plans from August 1928. The ceremonial opening of this monumental building took place in October 1932.
The symmetrically designed building defines the entire southern side of Ulrich Square. It is composed based on the principle of two four-story portico halls perpendicular to the basic three-story northern section and the connecting southern wing, which has four stories. These buildings enclose an inner courtyard with a passage to Nerudova Street. A villa on Mánesova Street is connected to the main building at the level of the first floor by a corridor. There were five apartments for officials and a communal dining room. The villa is constructed and architecturally designed similarly to the main building.
The building's structure is a reinforced concrete skeleton with brick infill. The roofs are flat with a tar covering.
The main facade facing the square has a distinctly horizontal character. The 128-meter-long facade has 41 window axes and is vertically divided only by the protruding central part covering 25 window axes. Above this part, there are gable walls of the portico halls without windows. The horizontality of the building is emphasized by the glazed ground floor with visible columns of the reinforced concrete structure. The portal of the three-axle entrance is metal, with a sandstone relief above it according to the design of B. Stefan. The shops on both sides are covered by a reinforced concrete marquee with a light glass infill. The mezzanine is distinguished by a protruding glass strip. The attic is capped with a simple cornice. The plaster is brizolit in natural color, and the exterior paint of the windows is brown-red. The columns on the ground floor and the entrance portal are clad in black polished granite.
On the side facade facing Mánesova Street, the mass of the portico hall with 15 window axes is primarily prominent. The brizolit plaster is complemented by a stone cladding of the partially recessed basement. The second side facade facing Jeronýmova Street is conceived similarly. The southern facade facing Nerudova Street is symmetrical in mass, again featuring the gables of the portico halls, this time with glazed walls.
In the layout, office operations with support areas predominate. Access to the building is via the proposed granite stairs through a three-axle entrance through the foyer into the vestibule, and from there via single-handed staircases to the raised ground floor. The entrance hall is artistically designed with glass stained glass by J. Kaplický, featuring motifs of railways and transportation.
At the time of realization, the object had 405 rooms, 918 windows, and 648 doors.
After World War II, the Directorate of State Railways in Hradec Králové was abolished, and the building was transferred to the Regional Administration of the Ministry of the Interior in 1962. Since then, there have been several layout and construction modifications. In an effort to acquire additional rooms, the glass fronts of the corridors and portico halls have been partitioned, disrupting one of the compositional principles of the building's interior.
In the left part of the building, a new paternoster lift was established between 1962-63 (previously, there was one shared in the right part). During World War II, anti-aircraft shelters were built on the vacant lots between Mánesova and Jeronýmova Streets, and from the 1950s, a significantly heterogeneous cluster of auxiliary ground-level structures (public restrooms, row garages, storage areas, etc.) emerged here.
The construction is a reinforced concrete frame with infill brickwork. The building is completely plastered, and the pillars of the facade on the ground floor are lined with Šluknov sienite. The portal is clad in the same material with a sculptural relief by sculptor Bedřich Stefan. The vestibule is lined with colored polished glass, and its front wall is glazed with cathedral glass featuring figurative decorations by painter Josef Kaplický. The floors in the corridors and halls are made of chamotte tiles with small mosaics. The office furnishings of the directorate and the meeting rooms with waiting areas are designed according to special plans. The heating of the building is centralized warm water, with the halls being heated and ventilated by a circulation of warm air of a capacity of 400 I 40° C/min. The hot water distribution is copper, and consumption is measured by water meters for each apartment individually, along with a control water meter before the reservoir. All fittings, both plumbing and central heating, are made of either black or red cast iron.
The building of the Directorate of State Railways was part of the urban-architectural composition of Ulrich Square according to the concept of architect Josef Gočár. It is a constructivist building with a pronounced spatial element of the portico halls, realized between 1928 and 1932 according to the author's plans from August 1928. The ceremonial opening of this monumental building took place in October 1932.
The symmetrically designed building defines the entire southern side of Ulrich Square. It is composed based on the principle of two four-story portico halls perpendicular to the basic three-story northern section and the connecting southern wing, which has four stories. These buildings enclose an inner courtyard with a passage to Nerudova Street. A villa on Mánesova Street is connected to the main building at the level of the first floor by a corridor. There were five apartments for officials and a communal dining room. The villa is constructed and architecturally designed similarly to the main building.
The building's structure is a reinforced concrete skeleton with brick infill. The roofs are flat with a tar covering.
The main facade facing the square has a distinctly horizontal character. The 128-meter-long facade has 41 window axes and is vertically divided only by the protruding central part covering 25 window axes. Above this part, there are gable walls of the portico halls without windows. The horizontality of the building is emphasized by the glazed ground floor with visible columns of the reinforced concrete structure. The portal of the three-axle entrance is metal, with a sandstone relief above it according to the design of B. Stefan. The shops on both sides are covered by a reinforced concrete marquee with a light glass infill. The mezzanine is distinguished by a protruding glass strip. The attic is capped with a simple cornice. The plaster is brizolit in natural color, and the exterior paint of the windows is brown-red. The columns on the ground floor and the entrance portal are clad in black polished granite.
On the side facade facing Mánesova Street, the mass of the portico hall with 15 window axes is primarily prominent. The brizolit plaster is complemented by a stone cladding of the partially recessed basement. The second side facade facing Jeronýmova Street is conceived similarly. The southern facade facing Nerudova Street is symmetrical in mass, again featuring the gables of the portico halls, this time with glazed walls.
In the layout, office operations with support areas predominate. Access to the building is via the proposed granite stairs through a three-axle entrance through the foyer into the vestibule, and from there via single-handed staircases to the raised ground floor. The entrance hall is artistically designed with glass stained glass by J. Kaplický, featuring motifs of railways and transportation.
At the time of realization, the object had 405 rooms, 918 windows, and 648 doors.
After World War II, the Directorate of State Railways in Hradec Králové was abolished, and the building was transferred to the Regional Administration of the Ministry of the Interior in 1962. Since then, there have been several layout and construction modifications. In an effort to acquire additional rooms, the glass fronts of the corridors and portico halls have been partitioned, disrupting one of the compositional principles of the building's interior.
In the left part of the building, a new paternoster lift was established between 1962-63 (previously, there was one shared in the right part). During World War II, anti-aircraft shelters were built on the vacant lots between Mánesova and Jeronýmova Streets, and from the 1950s, a significantly heterogeneous cluster of auxiliary ground-level structures (public restrooms, row garages, storage areas, etc.) emerged here.
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