The secret of Klárov ghost station
The Prague metro turned 50 years old last year! To mark the occasion, we explore a rather unusual station in the capital's metro network. Classified as confidential for almost sixty years, Klárov was one of the best-kept secrets of the Communist era. Radio Prague International tells the story of this unique station, which to date, has never opened to the public.
‘Next station: Klárov!’ is an announcement that you will never hear. And with good reason: although the station exists, it never opened to the public.
The Klárov station dates back to the 1950s when Communist leader Klement Gottwald was at the helm of Czechoslovakia, and the world was growing divided amid the Cold War. Back then, the idea to build an underground rail network in Prague was back on the table, again. To plan the project, a team of engineers were sent to Budapest to draw upon the expertise of their Hungarian counterparts. Following their visit, the team drew up their own plans for underground rail lines in the Czechoslovak capital.
Klárov alias K 111
Preparatory work progressed well until the project was shelved overnight on orders from the Kremlin. The Soviets looked positively on the idea of building a Prague underground rail system, but leaders prioritised tackling more pressing economic issues. And so the plans for an underground rail system met the same fate as many other infrastructure projects did at the end of the 20th century.
Preliminary studies were once again abandoned and indefinitely postponed. But, not all of them! No. One station escaped Moscow's scrutiny, and that station was Klárov. It was in great secrecy that the Czechoslovak Interior Ministry pressed on with construction of the station.
Work on Klárov station began in 1953, the government taking advantage of the simultaneous construction of the world’s biggest Stalin statue a couple of hundred metres away. This allowed planners to inconspicuously divert tram lines and avoid prying eyes as work got underway.
The project was classified as top secret, the highest level of confidentiality, with the code name of ‘Building K 111’. Its construction was completed a few years later, in 1957 or 1959, depending on which source you consult.
A station, a shelter, or both?
Even today, the original function of ‘Building K 111’ remains a mystery. Was Klárov intended as an underground rail station? Or as an air-raid shelter? Or both? For Prague metro guide Martin Karlík the latter hypothesis is more likely:
“In the 1950s, the authorities began to build anti-aircraft shelters. The Cold War was in full swing and geopolitical security had deteriorated. If metro stations had been built by then, they would have provided shelter in the case of war. However, there wasn't enough money to build a metro network complete with stations and tunnels. It was therefore agreed that stations could be used as shelters. The tunnels would be dug at a later stage, once the necessary funds were available. The authorities therefore began by building their first shelter, just opposite the Straka Academy where the government is based. Klárov station was supposed to be a shelter for the government, which is why the project was kept secret for a long time.”
The Klárov station was strategically located at the intersection of what is now Edward Beneš Embankment and U Bruských kasáren street, below Kramář Villa, the Czech PM’s residence, opposite the goverment headquarters at Straka Academy. The construction of an underground station in this secluded, little-frequented part of the city would have you believe that the project's only purpose, if only at first, was to provide shelter for senior party members.
2002 flooding raises rumours…
In the 1960s, the project to build an underground rail network in Prague resurfaced. On May 9th 1974, the first section of Line C between Sokolovská (now Florenc) and Kačerov was inaugurated with great hullabaloo. The first section of line A opened four years later, followed by line B in 1985. In the end, Klárov station was never served by the metro. For both technical and financial reasons, line A would instead stop at Malostranská, which is closeby and only a few hundred metres away.
The secret of the Klárov station could have been kept for much longer if it were not for the historic flooding of the Vltava river in 2002 which helped to reveal Klarov’s secret. That year, the river rose to record levels causing serious damage, with districts of the city submerged and no fewer than 16 metro stations completely flooded. It took several months to remove the water, clean the stations and finally restore service on the various lines.
Amid this flooding, citizen sleuths noticed the suspiciously high volumes of water pumped from the Malá Strana district. This fueled speculation about the possible existence of an underground complex in Prague unknown to the general public. It was not until ten years later that Klárov’s secret was officially revealed. The file on ‘Building K 111’ was declassified and Czechs finally learned the truth about this station, built in the 1950s and never opened to the public.
Access severely restricted until today
The entrance to Klárov station, opposite goverment’s headquarters, continues to be heavily guarded to this day. CCTV covers the entire area, and police officers stand guard at the nearby Straka Academy, watching out for potential intruders from the corners of the corner of their eye.
When Radio Prague International contacted the Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) to request a visit, the authority declined, citing security concerns. The state-owned company has been responsible for the site since the 1970s, and currently uses the space as a technical command centre. A few years ago, DPP authorised selected journalists to share rare photographs of the station's interior, which provided a better understanding of the underground spaces at Klárov. Behind the doors lies a steep metal staircase along with a goods lift.
The station sits at 50 metres below ground level. Several rooms have been fitted out, with only a few bare tunnels remaining. Void of rails or outlets, these tunnels serve as a reminder of the function they may have served if their existence had been kept secret.
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