Wenke's department store
today City Museum
The building of the city museum, formerly the department store A. Wenke and Son, was built between 1910-11 according to the design of architect Josef Gočár. It is a protected monument, as it is one of the significant landmarks of modern European architecture.
The inadequate and cramped sales spaces of the business A. Wenke and Son prompted the owner to construct an entirely new - modernly designed building. This was preceded by a study trip of merchant Wenke across Europe and visits to renowned department stores. The specific ideas of the ambitious Josef Wenke regarding the appearance, practicality, and utilization of the department store were satisfied only by the young architect Josef Gočár, the author of the project for the staircase leading to the church of St. P. Maria in Hradec Králové. The subsequent collaboration of the exceptional architect, the demanding builder, and the experienced builder Josef Máša from Jaroměř resulted in a splendid outcome.
The Wenke House in Jaroměř stands at the beginning of modern Czech architecture and represents a developmental precursor to cubist architecture. Gočár's outstanding work, liberated from traditional methods, has no parallel among contemporaries, as he successfully employed new construction techniques and a new building material. His protruding façade, suspended on cantilevers, was ahead of its time by a decade. The uniformly conceived aesthetic intention of the architect impacts the visitor from all sides - the unusually designed ground floor and first floor in a combination of metal and glass - is complemented by the second floor composed in a classical spirit. The delicate geometric decoration contributes to softening the lines of the building.
The reinforced concrete ceiling slab with a circular opening linked the two-story space of the ground floor with the balcony of the first floor. The entrance hall features a suspended chandelier along with an original ceiling painting.
Architect Gočár was also the author of the interior furnishings of the department store. Elegant shelves and counters in a calming dark brown finish corresponded with the coffered ceiling, the cladding of the columns, but also with the railing leading to the highest floor, which customers were transported to by an elevator.
Unfortunately, nothing from the commercial equipment of the interiors has survived to this day. The historical elevator was condemned to inactivity for a long time. Since 2001, it has been operating again, although only as a freight lift and for the enjoyment of visitors.
The inadequate and cramped sales spaces of the business A. Wenke and Son prompted the owner to construct an entirely new - modernly designed building. This was preceded by a study trip of merchant Wenke across Europe and visits to renowned department stores. The specific ideas of the ambitious Josef Wenke regarding the appearance, practicality, and utilization of the department store were satisfied only by the young architect Josef Gočár, the author of the project for the staircase leading to the church of St. P. Maria in Hradec Králové. The subsequent collaboration of the exceptional architect, the demanding builder, and the experienced builder Josef Máša from Jaroměř resulted in a splendid outcome.
The Wenke House in Jaroměř stands at the beginning of modern Czech architecture and represents a developmental precursor to cubist architecture. Gočár's outstanding work, liberated from traditional methods, has no parallel among contemporaries, as he successfully employed new construction techniques and a new building material. His protruding façade, suspended on cantilevers, was ahead of its time by a decade. The uniformly conceived aesthetic intention of the architect impacts the visitor from all sides - the unusually designed ground floor and first floor in a combination of metal and glass - is complemented by the second floor composed in a classical spirit. The delicate geometric decoration contributes to softening the lines of the building.
The reinforced concrete ceiling slab with a circular opening linked the two-story space of the ground floor with the balcony of the first floor. The entrance hall features a suspended chandelier along with an original ceiling painting.
Architect Gočár was also the author of the interior furnishings of the department store. Elegant shelves and counters in a calming dark brown finish corresponded with the coffered ceiling, the cladding of the columns, but also with the railing leading to the highest floor, which customers were transported to by an elevator.
Unfortunately, nothing from the commercial equipment of the interiors has survived to this day. The historical elevator was condemned to inactivity for a long time. Since 2001, it has been operating again, although only as a freight lift and for the enjoyment of visitors.
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