The exhibition commemorates the Těšnov railway station at the site where it once stood

Prague - Three decades after the demolition of the listed Těšnov railway station in Prague, an exhibition prepared by the Museum of the Capital City of Prague recalls this event. People will see it outside the museum at Florence, near the site where the station once stood. The last parts of the building, which the authorities sacrificed for the construction of the North-South motorway, were demolished on March 16, 1985. The destruction of the station remains a symbol of the insensitivity of the authorities towards monuments.
    The station at Těšnov began operating in May 1875, built by the significant railway company the Austrian Northwestern Railway, which had connected its extensive network of railway lines to Prague two years earlier. The neo-Renaissance building was designed by architect Karel Schlimp.
    The central part of the station building especially stood out for its grand architecture, with its facade designed as a classical triumphal arch supported by four columns, on which were placed statues representing commerce, science, industry, and agriculture. At the highest point was a sculpture depicting industry and agriculture, above which rose the figure of Austria as their protector.
    The interior of the reception area was also elaborately designed. “The waiting room for first and second class is furnished very elegantly; the seats are covered with green velvet, and the tables are marble. The ceiling features splendid arabesques. The restaurant and waiting rooms for third and fourth class are also decently furnished,” reported the magazine Světozor about the decoration of the station building in 1876.
    The station primarily served passenger transport. From 1919 it was named Denisovo after the French historian and politician who significantly supported the creation of an independent Czechoslovakia. During the Nazi occupation, the station was renamed Vltavské and after February 1948 to Prague-Těšnov.
    In 1972, the building was closed, the northern wing was demolished, and the remaining part of the building was searched for a purpose for a long time. Eventually, in 1985, the rest of the building was demolished too, regardless of its architectural value and potential uses. There were thoughts that the facility could become a university canteen, a shopping center, or a depository for the city museum, which today is located not far away. Since 2009, it has a new depository in Prague-Stodůlky, but it would like to acquire additional spaces for its exhibitions.