Behind the architecture

JAM documents modern architecture, well-known buildings and jewels not yet discovered by the public, architects and builders in a unique online database. The authors, objects and sets of buildings are presented in the database in Czech, German and English, supplemented by contemporary and archival photographic documentation, which is extended by audio recordings and period plans.

Not only Jihlava architecture is focused on lectures, guided walks, educational programs for schools and camps, thematic workshops for children and adults, but also a research room with the JAM library. More information can be found on jam.jihlava.cz or in the newly opened townhouse on Masaryk Square No. 21. Individual objects can be searched by a unique numeric code at www.jam.jihlava.cz.

HOURS is implemented through the Jihlava Gate from the funds of the EEA 2014-2021 and the statutory city of Jihlava

The establishment of a separate republic was an important milestone in the history of Jihlava. The new Czechoslovak state created several large construction contracts, which were awarded exclusively to Czech architects. German residents, however, still kept orders to build from German builders. This was indicative of the growing national rivalry, which was also manifested in the efforts to find the Czech national style, as was shown at the Župní legionary house by Jaroslav Dufka.

However, for most public buildings in the 1920s, a distinctive style drawing on Wagnerian modernity was eventually applied. In this spirit, a surgical pavilion was built in the premises of the hospital or Masaryk Jubilee School by Alois Mezera.

In the 1930s, functionalism became the dominant style, which was brought to Jihlava mainly by young architects from Brno. Examples are the sokolovna by Bohuslav Fuchs or the post office by Miroslav Kopřiva. During the period of the Protectorate, the building of the home of the Hitler Youth was created in the Heulos Forest Park, which was built in the Nazi-preferred Heimatstill. Most of the other planned projects during the war were not realized and the construction is thus a rare example of wartime architecture.

Construction, which was subdued after World War II, began in Jihlava only within the first five-year period beginning in 1949. In that year, the staff of the Stavoprojekt Jihlava also began to propose a directional land plan, which was approved in 1957. The plan followed an unrealized regulatory plan that Bohuslav Fuchs worked on in the 1930s and 1940s. A new ring road was also created, diverting traffic from the centre and within which a new Brno Bridge was built.

The main ideological task of the entire communist era was housing. Already in 1954, the first Jihlava Sídliště I was created using traditional masonry technology, which also included the corresponding infrastructure. From the beginning of the 1960s, the most massive construction of apartments in the history of the city began, which significantly transformed its urban character. The new dry-mounting technology of prefabricated panels accelerated and cheaper construction, but also contrasted strongly with the compact nature of older parts of the city. All housing estates were managed by the Jihlava Evoprojekt. In addition to residential buildings, public contracts were created, such as the House of Health, built in the spirit of late functionalist architecture. The generous project of the Cultural House of ROH by the Machonin spouses, which already pointed to a new direction in the development of architecture in the 1960s, became an important building.

The historical core of the once royal city of Jihlava, founded around 1240, still contains a large number of historically valuable buildings from different periods. Targeted care for them began only at the end of the 19th century, when the churches of St. Spirit and St. Yakub. A specific form of historic preservation is the reappraisal of the original appearance of monuments, as happened, for example, in 1924 at the Gate of the Mother of God. In addition to taking care of existing monuments, during the 20th and 21st centuries, new buildings were created in the centre, which often reflected contemporary ideas of what modern and representative architecture suited to the city centre should look like. Historical events also entered the form of the historical core, the gap in the synagogue was never healed after the Second World War, and the expulsion of the Germans from Jihlava left many buildings abandoned and gradually dilapidated.

The town centre underwent significant changes in the second half of the 20th century. In the 1950s, the state became interested in the state of the center. The town hall was reconstructed and two houses were repaired in the square for the newly founded Museum of the Highlands. However, other generous plans were often replaced by minor repairs and the construction of historic houses. In 1958, a redevelopment plan was drawn up transforming the houses in the center into housing, 9 years later it was replaced by a plan that already envisaged demolishing part of the surviving fund. It was partly in poor condition and 12 buildings had to be demolished in the 1960s. A significant intervention was the construction of the Prior department store on the site of the demolished Špalíček, which brought period architecture of the late 1970s and 1980s to the city centre. After 1989, the city center underwent postmodern interventions, of which the modification of the Horáček Theatre is more prominent. An unusual solution to the restoration was brought by the reconstruction of a burgher's house on Masaryk Square 21. Currently, the biggest challenge is the revitalization of Masaryk Square according to the winning proposal from the MCA studio.

Jewish merchants settled in Jihlava probably right from its foundation in the 13th century. In 1425, the Moravian Margrave Albrecht expelled them because of their alleged collaboration with the Hussites, and the Jews thus took refuge in nearby villages. Their houses were acquired by Catholics, including the synagogue, which was demolished in the 1960s along with other buildings in Jewish Street.

Jews from around Jihlava, however, still came to the city for business. In the 18th century, they had to start paying tolls and were not allowed to spend the night in the city. Thus, they slept in an inn outside the walls, which Johann Smutny rebuilt in 1789 so that there was a separate room for the Jews with its own kitchen and entrance from the garden. On Saturdays and holidays, the Jews used the room as a prayer room.

At present, the Workers' House stands on this site. From the end of the 18th century, some Jews obtained special residence permits, the same rights as other residents did not receive until 1867. At that time, the Jewish Religious Community was already functioning in Jihlava and a new synagogue was opened. This was followed by the formation of many Jewish associations and the development of not only religious but also social and political life accompanied by economic development.

The latter lasted until World War II. In the 1921 census, 1,126 Jewish residents were registered in Jihlava. Since 1939, Jews in Jihlava were not allowed to perform most of the work, their property was confiscated, they were not allowed into ordinary shops, and eventually they were transported to Theresienstadt and subsequently to one of the many concentration camps.

After the war there was an effort to restore the Jewish Religious Community, but only a very small number of the original inhabitants returned to Jihlava. Most of them then emigrated after 1948. Thus, the Jewish community in Jihlava was never restored.