Prague Main Railway Station from the park

The former Art Nouveau booking hall, now a cafe (October 2005)

The former main entrance, now the entrance to Fanta's Cafe (Fantova Kavárna)

Prague Main railway station (Czech: Praha hlavní nádraží, abbreviated Praha hl.n) is the largest and most important railway station in Prague in the Czech Republic. It was originally opened in 1871 and named Franz Joseph I after Franz Joseph I of Austria. During the First Republic and from 1945 to 1953 the station was called Wilson station (Czech: Wilsonovo nádraží) after former President of the United States Woodrow Wilson. His statue was placed in the park in front of the station before later being destroyed by German occupiers after the U.S. entered the war. Monument was destroyed at night 11th December 1941 and statue melted.^[1]

The Art Nouveau station building and station hall was built between 1901 and 1909, designed by the Czech architect Josef Fanta, on the site of old dismantled Neo-Renaissance station. The station was extended by a new terminal building, built between 1972 and 1979, including an underground station and a motorway on the roof of terminal. The new terminal building destroyed a large part of the park, and the motorway cut off the neo-renaissance station hall from the town, so it is resented by locals.^{[verification needed]} The station is being revitalized by the Italian company GrandiStazioni.^[2]

[edit] Services

[edit] Long-distance services

The station is an international transport hub, handling services to Germany (Munich/Nuremberg, Bavaria-Bohemia RE (Regio-Express) services, and EuroCity/EuroNight services to Berlin, Dresden and Hamburg), Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, The Netherlands, Serbia, and Croatia in summer. Services are operated by express trains, and also by ČD Class 680 Pendolino trains.

Some services on the north-south transport axis (Berlin - Prague - Budapest) do not call at hlavní nádraží but instead call at Praha-Holešovice station.

[edit] Regional services

In addition to the international services, trains serve most of the larger Czech cities, such as Brno, Plzeň, České Budějovice and Olomouc.

[edit] Suburban services

Although the suburban lines in Prague are preferably dispatched from smaller stations (Masaryk Railway station, Praha Smíchov and Praha Vršovice), some of the Esko Prague stop also here.

[edit] Local transport

The station is served by the Prague Metro's Line C, and numerous tram routes call outside the station.

Entrance hall (Before reconstruction)

[edit] References

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Coordinates: 50°4′59″N 14°26′09″E / 50.08306°N 14.43583°E / 50.08306; 14.43583