Ministry of Industry and Trade

The Palace of the Ministry of Industry and Trade dating from the year 1928 is built in the style of late Art Nouveau classicism. The building by architect Josef Fanta is richly decorated.

On the Dvořák Embankment at the mouth of the Štefánik Bridge we find the Palace of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Its construction began in 1928 on rather neglected grounds at a site that has served industry, commerce and trade since time immemorial. The construction was also connected with the repair of the embankment and bridgeheads. The author of the building in the style of late Art Nouveau classicism was one of the most important contemporary architects, Josef Fanta, who won a public competition.

It is interesting that the whole construction cost 32.5 million crowns, meaning that 1 m3 of built-up space cost 266 crowns, which at that time was a very good price.

The building has three floors, its walls are made of brick, but the facade is clad in granite and sandstone. Above the entrance facade are four statues symbolising Industry, Trade, Handicraft and Shipping, and towering over them is a decorative dome.

Also richly decorated is the Eastern facade, containing allegorical figurative sculptures of Entrepreneurship, Ingenuity, Perseverance and Truthfulness. The entire building contains more than 120 sculptures that complement the sgraffito decorations, ornaments, metal grids and other decorative elements. This extensive decoration is the work of 14 artists, including Josef Paukert and Čeněk Vosmík, and lends the building a grand appearance.

The interiors of the palace bear the hallmarks of Josef Fanta, especially the ostentatious representational spaces, where granite, marble, colourful stained-glass windows and panels of richly inlaid oak predominate.

Although the building has undergone extensive internal structural modifications, it retains to this day its original style and many original fittings, such as doors, ironwork, handles, tiles, lighting fixtures and lattices.

The building survived massive flooding in 2002 when a state of emergency was declared in Prague. Employees of the Ministry were evacuated and the authority's operations were temporarily shut down. Since then in the basement of the building are installed a retention tank and 13 powerful pumps for draining water away from the building. Everything is fully automated.