A 1912 publication about the new town of Husovice proclaims that ‘We in Husovice can be proud that our [Sokol] unit is one of the first in Moravia.’ Indeed, the local Sokol Physical Fitness Union had been founded in 1886, and Moravia’s very first Sokol building was built on Soběšická Street in 1890. By 1903, the number of Sokol buildings in Moravia was just eleven – significantly fewer than in Bohemia. Despite its pioneering status, however, Husovice’s old Sokol building could not keep up with the needs of the growing organization, and so, on 11 January 1903, its general assembly voted to establish a building committee, which was then tasked with planning a modern and dignified union building. An architecture competition was held in early 1905, to which only architects of Czech nationality were invited. Of the twenty-nine submissions, first prize went to by Karel Hugo Kepka’s ‘La renaissance en marche’ and second prize went to ‘Falcon’s Nest’ (sokol = falcon) by the Prague builder Jan Haindl. No third prize was awarded, since none of the other proposals met local building regulations. A plot of land on what was then Palackého Street (today Dukelská) was chosen for the new Sokol building, which was realized according to Kepka’s winning design.
Kepka had already designed several other important public buildings in Husovice, including a school and the Church of the Sacred Heart on náměstí Republiky. Commenting on the all-around development happening in Husovice at the time, Karel Mrázek, author of the aforementioned publication about Husovice, wrote: ‘The unkempt “village” becomes an orderly city.’ The foundation stone for the new Sokol building was laid on 21 May 1905, and the new building was ceremonially opened on Sunday, 12 August 1906, as part of a large Sokol event, the seventh slet (gathering) of the Rastislav župa (regional section) and the celebration of twenty years of Husovice’s Sokol association. In the afternoon, a ceremonial procession left the Besední dům in downtown Brno for Husovice, where župa chief Sylvestr Voda led a public exercise programme in the field behind new Sokol building that had been converted into an exercise ground. After the gymnastics demonstrations, a representative from the Moravian-Silesian Sokol community, the important public figure Hynek Bulín, held a closing speech.
The architecturally remarkable building is an important example of the work of the architect K. H. Kepka. Like Kepka’s other buildings from this period, it straddles the stylistic boundary between late historicism and Art Nouveau. The heavy ground floor with banded rustication evokes the Czech Neo-Renaissance, a style deliberately chosen to demonstrate Czech culture. The building’s defining element is the trio of tall arched windows on the first floor that illuminate the main exercise hall. Large laurel wreaths with ribbons between the windows bear the heraldic symbols of the city of Husovice and the lands of the Czech crown – Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. Other distinctive architectural elements are the cornice resting on a row of low classicist consoles, the four arched attic gables and the tall hip roof with pinnacles. The roof was originally covered with decorative roof tiles from Poštorná, but these were removed in the late 20th century. The Art Nouveau motif of wreaths with ribbons is repeated on the courtyard elevation and in the large gymnasium with a gallery, where wreaths complement the coffered ceiling and the ornately decorated wrought-iron balcony railing. The coffering and stuccowork was originally of a multi-coloured design, which, unfortunately, has not been preserved. In addition to the gymnasium, the building also housed various clubrooms, a public reading room and a restaurant. A large garden with a summer training ground adjoined the building. Besides Husovice, Art Nouveau Sokol buildings can be found in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm (the local gym opened on the same weekend as the one in Husovice, i.e., 11–12 August 1906), Prostějov (Otakar Pokorný, 1908), Valašské Meziříčí (Albert Gruber, 1910) and Napajedla (1911).
During the First World War, the patriotic members of the Husovice Sokol unit refused to hang the Austrian flag, and the building was confiscated from them; it was returned after independence in 1918. The Husovice unit had almost a thousand members in the interwar period, when it built new fields for handball and athletics, as well as a forest lodge in Heroltice near Tišnov, which is still used today. In 1929, the functionalist Jas Cinema (Dukelská 39/11) was built next door according to plans by the architect Miloslav Kopřiva. The building continued to be used as a gym during the communist era, and after 1989 it was returned to the restored Czech Sokol Community. Today, the Husovice Sokol unit still resides and practices in the building. Recent renovations of the northern side of the building facing Tomkovo náměstí led to the discovery of old painted advertisements from the 1930s. After insulation work was completed, a replica of the advertisements was painted on the facade. The construction of a massive road overpass across Tomkovo náměstí has radically altered the building’s surroundings and its original dominant role in this location.
Pavla Cenková
