In Budějovice
Hajíčkův obchodní dům
On foot 14 min
Opposite Wortnerův dům stands a department store from 1910 whose façade is almost entirely large mirror-glass panels in fine iron frames. It was the first modern department store in town. Almost nobody notices it — it reflects the houses opposite and in the narrow street you look ahead.
Leopold Hajíček had it built to a design by architect Jan Šula, and the house runs through the whole block as far as Plachého street. Customers rode a passenger lift for three people, and goods went by freight lift from the cellar to the attic; according to heritage experts both still work. The ground floor still serves as shops, so you can walk in as usual.
Practical details
- On foot 14 min
On site
- Stand before Wortnerův dům and turn around. That is the whole task. Most people do not turn.
- On the façade read "LEOP. HAJÍČEK".
- On the front pillars at mezzanine level are lamps — arc lights. (Listed in the heritage catalogue.)
- Try to find Wortnerův dům in the reflection. The battlements opposite mirror in the glass — why the building disappears.
- The ground-floor shop is normally open — not a closed monument