Žižkov Gas Plant

To facilitate lighting of its streets, the City of Prague built a municipal gas plant on purchased land lots defined by the later Karlova Street (today’s Seifertova) and Přemyslova (today’s U Rajské zahrady).  The gas produced in the gas plant was used by Prague, Žižkov and Královské Vinohrady from 1866. Žižkov was lit by electric lights from 1869 on.
The gas plant was in operation until the 1920’s. When it closed down, a peculiar space with tanks and other facilities gradually grown over by bush and bramble inspired sly undercover expeditions and more or less hazardous child play. As the old-timers remember, “Come play in gashouse” was a popular call to join in child-dimensioned adventures which, however, any good-mannered child should have shied away from.    

Today, the location of the gas plant is occupied by i.a. the FK Viktoria Žižkov stadium. Viktoria originally played at Ohrada and briefly even in Strašnice. In 1965, Viktorka obtained the freshly reconstructed stadium in Seifertova Street which allowed the club that managed to steal the title from both Sparta and Slavia in the 1927/1928 season to rise from ashes again.