When Prague's metro station Anděl was called Moskevská
With intertwined Soviet and Czechoslovak flags, inscriptions in Cyrillic, cosmonauts, and a portrait of Pushkin, Prague's Anděl metro station on line B is a trove of artistic and historical curiosities.
Tomáš Nigrin, Social Sciences Professor at Charles University and a specialist in the history of Czech railways, takes us on a tour of Smíchov’s Anděl metro station, originally built to celebrate the friendship between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union.
We are now standing in the southern entrance of the Anděl metro station. Can you start by telling us a little more about the station? When was it opened and in what political context?
"Inaugurated in 1985 as 'Moskevská' (Moscow station), Anděl was jointly designed with Soviet architects, helping to explain why the station resembles the metro of a Soviet city. In return, Prague architects helped to build the Prazhskaya (Prague) metro station in Moscow. The intention was clear: to highlight the links between Prague and Moscow’.
The station was not always called ‘Anděl’. As you rightly pointed out, it was originally called Moskevská. Are there any traces of that era left in the station?
"In the vestibule we stand in, a plaque reads ‘Moscow-Prague’, embellished with a branch from a flowering tree. Cyrillic inscriptions and the station’s design, reminiscent of an Orthodox church, which sets it apart from other Prague metro stations. Its architecture reflects the Soviet style, complete with socialist realist works, celebrating, for example, Czechoslovak-Soviet partnership in space exploration. Renamed from ‘Moscow’ to ‘Anděl’ in 1990, much of this imagery was initially removed, only to be restored later. However, a mosaic depicting Moscow at the top of escalators remains missing; it has been replaced by an information centre."
We continue our visit by taking the escalators down into the station. Over the years new escalators meeting European standards have replaced the fast and somewhat dangerous Soviet escalators. But, the notable length of the escalators certainly remains - a reminder that many of Prague’s older metro stations once served another purpose...
"Some stations of the Prague metro network are particularly deep. There are several reasons: the presence of historic buildings on the surface, the need to pass under the Vltava river, but also the fact that these stations were designed as shelters in the Cold War. Known as the ‘Metro protection system’, it hides underground hospitals and water tanks. Under this contingency system, all the metro lines are connected; even the Strahov road tunnel is connected to this station, so hundreds of thousands of Prague citizens could have taken shelter here in the event of a nuclear war. That metal sheet you see as you enter the station is actually a massive door that protects the shelter."
Pushkin, sickle and hammer
We are now at the bottom of the escalators, with the central tunnel in front of us and bronze bas-reliefs on either side of the platforms. One of them shows the silhouette of the 19th-century Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, while another shows a flight of doves. What about the others?
"One of the bas-reliefs reads мир (mir) and май (maï), ‘peace’ and ‘may’ in Russian. An integral theme of socialist realism is the peace after the May 1945 victory over Nazi Germany. This bas-relief is dedicated to that victory and maintenance of peace thanks to the Soviet Union’.
‘We also see a bas-relief in honour of the conquest of space, featuring two cosmonauts, their hands outstretched towards what appears to be a planet or satellite. It illustrates the joint progress made in the space race, during which the Soviet Union sent Vladimír Remek to space. He was the first Czechoslovak man in history to go into orbit. The piece is a tribute to scientific and technological progress, another central theme of socialist realism’.
‘The next bas-relief shows a set of flags, including those of Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, alongside a sickle and hammer - symbols of a shared community at the time."
Political aspects of aesthetics therefore seemed to be fundamental to the Prague metro?
"Absolutely, construction sites were of considerable importance. They were proof of the prestige and capabilities of the regime. Particular attention was always paid to aesthetics. In the days of socialism, 1% of the budget for any new building had to be devoted to art and culture. That's why, for example, a motorway bridge from that era is usually adorned with a sculpture. The metro, on the other hand, was supposed to be a space for the glory of Czechoslovak industry, in which Soviet engineers were involved."
Why is the station now called ‘Anděl’?
"The station was renamed Anděl (angel) in 1990 referring to the historic name of a crossroad intersection above it. Four busy tram lines crossed here. About a hundred thousand people pass through the station daily, making it the second busiest non-transfer metro stations in Prague."
Can you tell us more about the history of the Smíchov district, at the heart of which Anděl station is located?
"The district was originally very industrial. The immediate vicinity of the station is home to sizable tram and metro wagon manufacturers. In ČKD Tatra tram factory, more than 20,000 T-type trams were made. The vehicle was used throughout the former Eastern bloc, from East Germany to North Korea, and was inspired in part by the American trams of the late 1940s and early 1950s. In the early 1990s, the tram factory was relocated to the outskirts of Prague. A huge area of land became available, giving rise to a whole new district with shopping centres, offices and restaurants. The district underwent a transformation, with French architect Jean Nouvel contributing with the ‘Zlatý Anděl’ (Golden Angel) building, intended to symbolise the district’s importance."
You were born and raised in this city. Do you have a historical or personal anecdote to share with us about the station or the district?
"My grandmother lived three tram stops from here. I remember the original Anděl station, next to this huge factory that the trams came from. I remember the gradual demolition of this industrial area - a number of houses were blown up. In the mid-1990s, the landscape here was almost desolate. Today you're in the middle of a dynamic district where people live, have fun and earn money in a completely different way to thirty years ago."
Did you know?
In 2002, the Anděl metro station, like fifteen other stations in the city centre, was submerged by the historic Vltava floods. Several months of work were required before the network ran as normal. Today, a commemorative plaque with a horizontal bar reminds metro users of the water level reached during the 2002 floods. Can you spot it?
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