The luxury Palác Archa: a UNESCO listed gem in the city of Prague
Palác Archa as it stands today
This building is currently known under the name Palác Archa. It is made up of four buildings (A, B, C and D) and comprises high-quality office and retail space. It is also a place of culture in the form of the luxurious Archa Theatre, or the site of festivals such as DesignSUPERMARKET. Palác Archa is located in a very busy place and in a good location in the centre of Prague at na Poříčí and is a UNESCO listed building.
Legiobanka and it story from times past
Back then, the accomplished architect Josef Gočár invited his no-less-accomplished friends and artists to collaborate on creation of Legiobanka: these being Jan Štursa, author of the four sculptures of legionnaires which are located above the main entrance, Otto Gutfreund, who created the Return of the Legions relief fascia on the second-floor parapet and František Kysela, who is the author of the luxury paintwork inside and the stained-glass window in the glazed trefoil arch above the banking hall.
Legiobanka as such did very well and for this reason had a second building added next door in 1937–38. This was a modern building in a Functionalist style designed by the architect František Marek, which is connected to Gočár’s Rondocubist building. The second building is known as the Golden Spike, this relating to the luxury decoration on the second floor with the motif of a wrought spike designed by Josef Kaplický. We certainly recommend you go to see this.
The complex of both buildings was purchased in 1990 by ČSOB, which commenced grand renovation of the site which was performed in 1991–1994 according to a concept by Vojtěch Obadálek. Ing. Zdeněk Langer and Ing. Marek Vávra also participated in the renovation project. The basement theatre hall was also renovated and one of the most modern designs of theatre space of the late 20th century in the Czech Republic was established here – the Archa Theatre.
