Photo: Archive of DPP
Thursday marks exactly 50 years since the opening of the first section of the Prague metro, running between Kačerov and Florenc on the C line. Today there are 61 stations and three lines. But did you know that there is also a secret metro station, known as Klárov? Classified as confidential, it was one of the best-kept secrets of the Communist era.
Are you a frequent subway rider and yet you have never heard of Klárov? That’s because the station never opened to the public, and is in fact not even part of the metro network. The idea for its construction originated in the early 1950s, during the peak of the Cold War, explains Prague tour guide Martin Karlík:
“In the 1950s, the communist authorities got the idea to build metro stations that could serve as air-raid shelters in case of war. Once the necessary funds were available, they would dig out the tunnels to connect the shelters and the network could serve as an underground transport system. The authorities therefore began by building a first shelter, just opposite the Straka Academy, which is the seat of the government.”
See the rest here.
Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Paul-Henri Perrain