Architecture Day: Prague - Husův sbor Vršovice and Divadlo Mana

Husův sbor in Vršovice was designed by Karel Truksa and Pavel Janák, with construction completed in 1930. The building is dominated by a powerful four-sided tower nearly 26 metres high, topped with a stylized four-sided chalice and cross. The structure exemplifies individualistic modernism inspired by functionalism with constructivist elements.

A distinctive feature of the project was the theatre hall designed as an integral part of the sacred building - complete with technical facilities. The Prague-based construction firm Stavitelství Nekvasil completed it in just nine months, aided by the then-advanced technology of prestressed concrete. The hall is historically linked to the Jiráskova theatre in Vršovice, which maintained a permanent stage here until 1964, and to the amateur group Bozděch (founded in Vršovice in 1892). During the wartime occupation, the space served as the Bio Helios cinema. After 1964, the building lost its original purpose for over four decades; since 2005, the Czechoslovak Hussite Church has gradually revitalized and reconstructed it. Today it is home to the Vršovice theatre MANA.

The tour will be led by Reverend David Frýdl.