Photo: Klára Stejskalová, Radio Prague International
The constructivist Svět Palace was for many decades the focal point of community life in Prague’s Libeň neighbourhood. Known as Libeň’s answer to the Lucerna Palace, Svět appeared in several works by the famous author Bohumil Hrabal, who was a frequent visitor himself. Listed as a cultural monument, the palace has unfortunately met a sad fate in recent years, having fallen into disrepair under a severely neglectful owner.
The Svět Palace stands on the edge of a leafy square not far down the road from the Palmovka metro station, in an area that is off the beaten path of most mainstream Prague tourist tours. Although it is difficult to tell from looking at it nowadays, the now shabby palace was once by far the most important building around.
It was designed and constructed in the early 1930s by architect František Havlena, who was hired for the project by the Svět family, a clan of local landowners with deep roots in Libeň. Specifically, the palace was the brainchild of Ladislav Svět, who received the plot of land on which the building was later built as a wedding gift. Originally, a simple farmhouse had stood there.
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Authors: Vojtěch Pohanka, Klára Stejskalová