Czechia's Incredible 1960s Supervillain-Lair Hotel (And Why Its Architect Got Banned)

In 1973, a new hotel opened outside the city of Liberec, in what was then Czechoslovakia. And it looked like nothing anyone had seen before. So what's it like inside? How did it win one of the biggest prizes in architecture? And why was its designer banned from the official opening? I travelled to Liberec to find out more...

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[alexdemoya]

Fortunately all the mountain climbing Tim has done in the Netherlands prepared him for this

[nickfasfasd]

I absolutely love this video! Thank you!

As a Czech, to react to your question: I dont think there were many limitations in the field of architecture for political reasons, many buildings even paid a "hommage" to some Western architectural influences etc. In certain decades, there was in fact more creative freedom than nowadays, as the construction didnt have to be commercially viable, therefore some of the most beautiful and creative pieces of architecture come from this era. Note: Of course, this freedom applies to the style, if the architect became "persona non grata", then he could have problems even building Lenin statues. Also, the amount of political ingerence varied greatly in the different decades - 50s were very hard times economically and politically, so the grip was tighter.

Btw, one interesting point: there was even a mandatory "art budget" tied to every construction, so even when a lowcost blockhouse was built, there was always some kind of sculpture, mosiac or fountain built on it or nearby, since the building company (state-owned, ofc) was obliged to contract some artist to create it. Sometimes the result was great, sometimes it wasnt, anyway some very interesting pieces of art were created this way and it kept many artists going.

However, there were always serious limitations in the terms of financing and availibility of materials, therefore not all the ideas made it into reality, sadly. And even more sadly, many of the architectonic gems of the socialist era (40 years, not a short period of time) were demolished or rebuilt in a terrible way in the last decades, as many people cannot really dissociate the political stuff they didnt like from the architecture that had its qualities. However, I still think there are many buldings of interest and slowly some of them get the appreciation and care they deserve.

Some links:

By the way, if you like this kind of architecture, you may be also interested in a book "CCCP: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed" by Frédéric Chaubin. It showcases many buildings in the "space" style that were built in the former CCCP (therefore Czechia is not included).

[proof]

Little fun fact: with good weather conditions you can see this hotel from Germany when you're on the southern site of the Zittau Mountains. I remember seeing it back in the day when me and my parents were on vacation there. But back then I just thought it's a fancy looking transmission tower.

[pneumane]

Additional note for everyone visiting Germany: Liberec is also a 2-3 h train ride from Dresden.

[flytrapYTP]

It's nice of you to visit Česko, hope you've had plenty of fun.
To add my two cents of speculation on why Novotný approved the building, the Communists had a thing for impressive/ostentatious looking construction projects. "Building socialism" was a phrase you'd hear a lot in propaganda pieces. You could translate the term for it as 'Constructionism' . The new Czechoslovakian proletariat was building a brighter utopian future, and that meant building, building and building (until the state ran out of money, oops). This also included blowing up a bunch of perfectly salvagable buildings (see Ústí nad Labem after WWII), building the largest Stalin monument on the planet only to tear it down less than 10 years later (overlooking Prague on Letenská pláň), and ramming a 3-lane dual carriageway directly through Prague's city center. Because cars are freedom...
So it's not out of the ordinary that they'd approve a bizarre and impressive looking building like our Liberecký vysílač.
I can at least say that some of those projects ended up being interesting and not just horrendous wastes of concrete.

[diegobob]

I've spent half my life with my head buried in architecture books/magazines and I don't think I ever came across this hotel... loved the video! It's amazing how many iconic buildings also have tragic stories for the architect

[SamAronow]

I'll note this isn't your first hotel review; have we so easily forgotten the Monte Palace?

[jkarhiaho]

Using a piano cover of the Grand Designs theme when showing the hotel is a nice touch as was the Bond theme. There's clearly attention put towards the little details in your videos. And also another fascinating place that is worth learning about. Keep up the good work of introducing all sorts of interesting places to us

[ColinH]

Finally!! I have been somewhere before you Tim!! I stayed in this hotel 5 years ago and I loved it. Thanks for the good memories.

[aleasenigel]

Something to keep in mind for future visits: the cablecar that runs right to the base of the hotel is currently not operating, because of a catastrophic failure that happened like a year back. However, it has been decided that the cable car will be repaired and extended to that tram station at the start of the video. So getting there in the future will be way easier!

[quuaaarrrk]

I am truly impressed by Tims physical abilities.
Not only is he capable of montaging up a snowy mountain with ease, he can even calmly tell stories while doing so.

[mtacji]

The 'Grand Designs' theme is so incredibly appropriate. Will the unique design and unusual location lead to problems part-way through the project? Of course they will.

[jankbt]

As a Czech from Liberec living in Luxembourg, I was already happy with your video on three highest mountains of Luxembourg. But this blew my mind!! When I was a kid, we’re regularly climbing up under the cable car (not in winter). I remember my father claimed once that Jested was stolen, because we couldn’t see it. I believed it and I was so upset all the way up…and relieved when we got like 100m close and I saw it’s still there 😂
Thanks for the amazing content, Tim!

[SignalStealer]

"A od kdy mluvíš anglicky?" -- "Since when do you speak english?" You totally got me there 😁 Thanks for visiting this gem. I know there are heaps more in Czechia. Like the church where they exhumed the remains of lots of deceased since they could not fit in the cemetery anymore, and turned them into an interior decoration.

[queliolionelo]

As someone who doesn't live in Europe, every time I get the chance to travel I end up in the mainstream places, that's why I love you showing us the b-side tourism I would only have the chance to visit if I lived there.

[Meg_A_Byte]

Great video, very well edited!
Can we expect more videos from Czechia? That would make me really happy.

[johncrwarner]

Your "blopper" reel at the end
reminded me of my first trip
on the Bernina Express
which we did on a foggy day
and had a pre-recorded guide
in four languages telling us
about the wonderful views we couldn't see
We had one metre visibility over the highest point.

[litaveccz]

Novotny has not been so to speak "as hard" communist as those before and mostly after him. He for example rehabilitated most (if not all) of politically inprisoned people (inprisoned in 50s). It wouln't surprise me if his approval of the hotel had something to do with it's placement in Sudets as he was imprisoned in concentration camp Mauthausen-Gusen by the nazis and previous hotel was actually german. But that's pure speculation by my part.

[vanwesthuizen]

Oh Boy this is exciting!
I‘ve actually been on top of the Ještěd in summer 2019. The father of a friend works for the Czech telecommunication infrastructure Organisation and has access to every important transmission tower in Czechia. It was completely unplanned and we felt really lucky not only driving to the summit by car but also climbing the ladder to the unaccessible platform at the very top. It was really interesting to see the radio transmitters and different antennas underneath the white membrane. The Dad told us, that sometimes in winter they had accidents by Ice falling down and shattering hotel windows underneath. And the views from the very top were amazing! You’re able to see Sněžka, Germany and even Milešovka.
Thanks for the interesting video, really loved it and didn’t expect to see it once on YouTube. :)

[Pethrenne]

It also started the trend of futuristic buildings in the Sudetes, including the Praded Tower and Śnieżka Observatory. If you want to visit more mountains while you're at it, consider seeing the others.