Ohrada and Environs

Location: park with a view of the corner of Želivského and Koněvova

The Ohrada Junction is probably one of the most complicated traffic nodes in the territory of Prague 3. The busy roads – Koněvova, Jana Želivského and Pod Krejcárkem all cross one another here. Since 1910, there has been the tram track along Koněvova, currently just from the junction towards Jarov; the perpendicular track in Jana Želivského started operation in 1937. The new tram line to Libeň was built in 1988-1990. The name of the junction hints at the name of a previous vineyard manor from the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries which was positioned almost in the dead centre of today’s Koněvova in the western part of the junction, close to the present Zelenky Hajského and Kališnická Streets. The three smallish buildings which have remained from the manor posed an obstacle to the traffic and were removed in the beginning of the 20th century. Besides the junction name, the manor lives on in the street names of Na Ohradě and Nad Ohradou. Ohrada offers the most comfortable way of walking to Vítkov; there is a dense network of walking routes in this part of the hill. The strategic advantage of this approach was also used by the Crusaders when they attacked the Hussite defence fortress at the top of Vítkov during the proverbial battle in July 1420. The Vítkov ridge offers a gentle slope towards the north-east occupied by an allotment colony Na Krejcárku, quite unusual for an inner city location; it can be considered a successor of the famous working class housing colony.  

The first left turn from Koněvova towards the centre is called Zelenky- Hajského and commemorates one of the many brave Žižkov citizens who sacrificed their lives in their fight against the Nazis. The family of Jan Zelenka – Hajský, living at Biskupcova Street 1837/4 not far from here, provided accommodation and assistance to the paratroupers from the ANTHROPOID drop, and together with other residents of the building, the Rút family, helped prepare the attempted assassination of the Deputy Reich-Protector Reinhard Heydrich in May 1942. Their heroism cost both families their lives. In May 1945, numerous barricades were built in the vicinity of the junction and their brave defenders never allowed the German soldiers to gain control of the junction, thus effectively stopping their progress towards the city centre. 

The Na Ohradě Street, adjoining the park, was architecturally defined after WWII when two architects, František Stalmach and Hanuš Svoboda, designed two rows of triplex houses for the Lidový demokrat Cooperative, all with uniform fronts in the Functionalist style; later, this principle was reapplied by other designers in the continuing construction towards the east along Koněvova. The south side of the junction is characterised by the corner facets of the Functionalist building erected in the 1930’s by builder Václav Drnec. The Koněvova Street in the Ohrada vicinity is taken by almost traditionally interpreted buildings, extending the metropolitan character of the houses along the boulevard with commercial premises on the ground floor.