The Great Strahov Stadium is, with its capacity of 250,000 spectators, the largest in the world.
From the roof of the stadium, you can see the towers of St. Vitus Cathedral, the Petřín Lookout Tower and even the Strahov Monastery.
In 1926 the Sokol movement opened (4th of July 1926) the first stadium on the Strahov hill. The first structures were mostly wood and mud. In 1937,
President Masaryk bid farewell to the spectators and trainees present there. In
June and July 1938, a total of 2.3 million spectators and 348,000 trainees
attended the Sokol (Falcon) gathering, including Karolína's grandmother, who was 7 years old at
the time. She performed as a young Sokol in front of President Beneš.
During the Nazi occupation, a large military parade was held here to celebrate Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday, and then Jews were gathered here before they were sent to concentration camps. Shortly after the war, deported Germans were housed at the stadium. In both cases, terrible things happened there, first carried out by the Nazis and later by the Czechs after the war. After the liberation of Prague, the American army played a game of American footbal here. The last Sokol gathering was held in 1948, as a protest against the rise of communism. Karolina's grandmother, Marta, also took part.
During the Nazi occupation, a large military parade was held here to celebrate Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday, and then Jews were gathered here before they were sent to concentration camps. Shortly after the war, deported Germans were housed at the stadium. In both cases, terrible things happened there, first carried out by the Nazis and later by the Czechs after the war. After the liberation of Prague, the American army played a game of American footbal here. The last Sokol gathering was held in 1948, as a protest against the rise of communism. Karolina's grandmother, Marta, also took part.
The Sokol
gatherings became Spartakiad exercises, and the communist regime used these mass
events as a tool for propaganda and population control. In 1948 and 1975, the
stadium underwent further construction modifications. The last Spartakiad was
held in 1985.
After the Velvet revolution and the regaining of independence, huge concerts were held here in the 1990s. The first to come to Prague were the Rolling Stones in 1990; later, for example, Guns N' Roses or Pink Floyd. In 1994, the renewed All-Sokol gathering was held, this time in the presence of President Havel. A year later, a mass was held at the stadium in the presence of Pope John Paul II. Since then, it has not been used much and is gradually falling into disrepair. At one time, there were even considerations about demolishing it. Since 2003, the stadium has been used by local football club, and rumours of demolition have been put to rest for a while.
After the Velvet revolution and the regaining of independence, huge concerts were held here in the 1990s. The first to come to Prague were the Rolling Stones in 1990; later, for example, Guns N' Roses or Pink Floyd. In 1994, the renewed All-Sokol gathering was held, this time in the presence of President Havel. A year later, a mass was held at the stadium in the presence of Pope John Paul II. Since then, it has not been used much and is gradually falling into disrepair. At one time, there were even considerations about demolishing it. Since 2003, the stadium has been used by local football club, and rumours of demolition have been put to rest for a while.
I started photographing the stadium once I moved to Prague in 2018. At first with hand held medium format camera and later using a very heavy Linhof camera with a tripod because I realized the building required and deserved more than my traditional approach. I still like these images though.
Sometimes I would connect two 6x9 negatives into a panorama. The ability to shift the lens on a camera on a tripod helped. Still either the film back or the bellows was slightly leaking light so I ended up with some uneven negatives.
I was able to get official access to the stadium and to shoot a couple of films, and then the pandemic started, and that was that. In the following years, someone stole the bronze statue of the two relay runners.
