Postcard – Praha, Štvanice Winter Stadium, postmark

Product detailed description

Condition: as found, good

Size: 15.1 cm x 10.8 cm

 

Štvanice Winter Stadium, opening match Czechoslovakia–France, 1932

The Bohemian national ice hockey team and its successor, the Czechoslovak national team, had to win five European titles before the players finally got their first stadium with artificial ice – something unheard of in Europe. On 15 March 1929 the Prague City Council decided to allocate land on Štvanice island to the Prague Sample Fairs for its construction, influenced by the success at the 1929 European Ice Hockey Championship, which the Czechoslovak team won.

Construction to a design by architect Josef Fuchs^[ only began a year and a half later. The refrigeration plant supplied by Brněnské strojírny was reportedly able to make 4 cm of ice in two hours. Work progressed so fast that on 17 January 1931 LTC Praha could play Manitoba University Graduates from Canada here under provisional conditions, losing 0:2. The very next day the Czechoslovak national team played its first international against the Canadians at the stadium; Josef Laufer described the goalless draw to radio listeners. The stadium ran in this state for three months, with completion planned for the summer, but this failed because of the cost in the looming economic crisis. The original investor could not meet its obligations  and the city had to promise a low annual rent and tax relief so that the stadium, with all its liabilities, would be leased by the firm of Ing. Keclík, which had originally only carried out the building work. Despite the resumption of construction, the 1932 European Championship could not be held here. The stadium was officially opened only on 6 November 1932, when the Czechoslovak team drew 4:4 with France in front of 6.000 spectators. 

The 90 x 34 m ice surface was divided into two parts, with a 60 x 30 m area for hockey matches. The stands, some covered and some even movable, held up to 10.000 spectators, who also had a café. Athletes had lockers, a warming room and a gym. The stadium hosted four Ice Hockey World Championships (1933, 1938, 1947 and 1959), and the home team won a medal at every one of them. It was roofed only in 1956 for the Women's European Basketball Championship; the roof was designed by Ing. Josef Zeman. At club level it was first used mainly by LTC Praha, and in the 1950s by five different clubs. On 11 February 1955 a Prague selection played Swedish club Leksand IF here, the first match in front of television cameras. The Czechoslovak Figure Skating Championships were held here from 1951 to 1976. The stadium was repaired in 1968, but parts of it were gradually closed in later years because of their poor condition. From 1998   the stadium was leased by the APeX CLUB association, which reopened it from its own resources after two years out of use. In 2000 the stadium was declared a cultural monument. It was damaged by the 2002 flood, and APeX CLUB, without any outside help, restored operation again in a record two months. In 2008 the city terminated the lease without giving a reason; the tenant challenged this in court, but in 2011 the court upheld the termination. According to an expert report the whole structure was in danger of collapse and posed an immediate threat to life and health, so the stadium and its surroundings were closed. On 10 January 2011 the Prague 7 building authority ordered the building to be cleared, and demolition began on 28 May 2011, lasting about 20 days. (Source: Wikipedia)