Building history
In the vicinity of present-day historical buildings in Pilsen’s pedestrian zone there are the grounds of a former Dominican convent, one of the dominant and historically significant buildings of the city. The grounds of the convent, which at the time of its founding lay against the city walls, were finished by the Baroque builder Jakub Auguston Jnr. in 1714. In 1782, the city bought the convent, which had been abolished by Josef II, and established within its grounds a main school with a six-year secondary school, both of which were entrusted to Tepla Premonstratensians.
Here in 1804, the two-year-old Department of Philosophy began its education program aimed at university undergraduates. Only after Šimon Michael Schell completed the southern Classical wing in 1805 was further development of the department possible. The grounds were thus dedicated to education and science.
Of all the professors, two became renowned. Josef Vojtěch Sedláček, mathematician and classical philosopher, and Josef František Smetana, physicist, biologist and historian; both were well-known revivalists. They wrote here their first scientific works and Czech textbooks. It was from these grounds that school principal Josef Stanislav Zauper wrote letters to Johann Wolfgang Goethe, and Goethe’s replies were sent here. And it was here that the next generation of national revivalists were educated, whose repute went on to extend beyond regional borders.
John ‘from the Star’ (Jan Jindřich Marek), Josef Linda, Jan Pravoslav Koubek, Jaroslav Kalina and many others all graduated from the secondary school. 16-year-old Bedřich Smetana, on his cousin J. F. Smetana’s recommendation, came to the school in 1843 to complete his secondary school studies. A museum was situated in the building in 1878, apartments were established here in 1919, and the city library and reading room were located here in 1931. The secondary school was located here until its closure in 1924.
The breaking of six large window displays saw the ground floor of the southern wing adjusted to become sales outlets; it was, however, architectonically destroyed. The building became the quarters of various firms and tenants; it fell into disrepair and after WWII it was in desolate condition. During the years 1953 – 1959, the grounds were adapted to become a library. The adaptive building work was managed by Oto Gschwind according to his project. It was during this time that the viridarium was somewhat inappropriately built up with a bulky study room. The educational library in the newly adapted location was festively inaugurated on 27 February 1959. Further reconstruction was begun after almost 30 years in 1987 by SVK PK according to a project by Jiří Fleisner, and ended in 1994 with the renewal of facades, the replacement of windows and the completion of a new copper roof. At this time, the south face of the building was brought almost to the condition in which it was found in the early 19th century by Š. M. Schell, who later completed it.
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