In the early 20th century, the ethnic conflict between and Germans was clearly reflected in the field of education, as the Czech National Revival among other things sought to secure sufficient numbers of schools in which the language of instruction was Czech. The proposed construction of a new school building in rapidly expanding Královo Pole thus became the subject of political disputes and was the main issue during local elections in 1912, which were won by the school’s supporters, including its primary proponent, headmaster František Doušek. Built in 1912‒1913 according to plans by the architect Antonín Blažek, the monumental Czech Folk and Burgher School for Boys and Girls (an elementary and middle school) on Slovanské náměstí was the pride of pre-war Královo Pole and a symbol of efforts at turning the former village into a modern Czech town. The building was decorated with symbolic sculptures and a large inscription on the facade that read ‘Po věky zde stůj, veď, chraň, vzdoruj!’ (Here for evermore stand, lead, protect, resist!), which outraged the Habsburg authorities.
A total of fourteen proposals were submitted to the school’s architecture competition announced in 1912. The jury consisted of Czech Technical University professor Karel Hugo Kepka, the gubernatorial building officer and architect Josef Karásek, chief engineer of Moravia and architect Vladislav Rybka, and the Královo Pole architect Antonín Blažek. Ten projects were excluded due to unsuitable ground plans. From the remaining four, the jury selected two winning proposals: the first was by Václav Vejrych from Prague and the second by the Brno architects Vladimír Fischer. Working with the selected projects, Antonín Blažek drafted definitive building plans (dated July 1912) according to which the school was constructed in 1913 by the local builder Eduard Grümm in collaboration with master mason Kristián Dejmek. The completed building was officially certified on 26 January 1914, and instruction began just a few days later, on 3 February. The new building was occupied by two elementary schools and both middle schools that had been previously housed at premises on Palackého Avenue, which were subsequently adapted for the needs of Královo Pole’s town hall. The new school building additionally housed a preschool and later also a library.
The building’s basic composition draws on traditional school architecture from the second half of the 19th century. At its core, it is a conventional historicist school building with predominantly Neo-Baroque forms, except that these forms were significantly simplified and geometrized, with the addition of modernist Cubist forms. As such, it is a remarkable example of the era’s architecture that straddles the stylistic boundaries between historicism, Art Nouveau and modernism.
The triple-wing, three-storey building with a mansard roof has a strictly symmetrical three-part facade crowned by a centrally placed arched gable. The building’s rounded corners are accentuated by semi-cylindrical oriels with balconies on top; the oriels originally housed the headmaster’s office and staffrooms. The two entrances – one for the boys’ school, one for the girls’ school – are symmetrically situated on the right and left of the main elevation and are framed by monumental aedicule-like portals. Between them, at the very centre of the facade, is a stucco coat of arms of Královo Pole with the year 1913.
The building’s sculptural decoration played an important role in the building’s plans, for it was intended as a demonstration of Czech patriotism. Ten proposals were submitted to the 1913 competition for these decorative elements. First prize went to Václav Prokop of Prague, the runner-up was the Brno sculptural firm of Reinhart and Kocourek, and Václav Hynek Mach and V. Přikryl received honourable mention.
The figural decoration on the gable was probably made according to Prokop’s winning design, although it may have been realized by the Královo Pole stuccoist Přikryl. It features a pair of allegorical sculptures that most likely personify parenthood and education or child rearing and teaching. On the left-hand side of the gable, a woman holding a book is protecting a boy under her cloak. Her counterpart is a male figure in Slavic garb protecting a girl. The four allegorical sculptures on the portals of the two main entrances – four pairs of boy and girl figures titled To Work, To Ardour, To Science and To Art – were made by the Královo Pole sculptor Václav Hynek Mach. The sculptures’ original modelling and proportions were damaged during repairs in the 1950s and 1960s, thus altering their original appearance.
Much attention was also paid to the design of the interiors. The balustrade on the monumental staircase is made of artificial stone possessing distinctly modernist geometric forms. From the arcades on the stair landings, one has impressive views of the building. On the mezzanine level, several large stained-glass windows with refined geometric Art Nouveau decoration overlook the courtyard. The ceiling paintings in the grand entrance areas feature ovals with colourful floral ornamentation inspired by folk designs. The ceilings in the corridors are visually broken up by stucco frames with painted decoration in the form of geometric patterns. Stylized floral motifs are also found in other important parts of the building. Originally, there was colourful painted decoration in the classrooms as well, in the form of decorative bands along the upper part of the walls.
The wing on Bulharská Street was extended in 1936 to provide space for a gymnasium with showers, a lecture hall and workshops.
Preserved in its original form, the school building is one of Královo Pole’s most important architectural monuments. In 1927–1929, a counterpart to the elementary and middle school and a dominant feature on the opposite side of Slovanské náměstí was built in the form of a new gymnázium (grammar school).
Pavla Cenková
