Vinohrady is a district and cadastral area in Prague with an area of 3.79 km². Of this area, 55% lies in Prague 2.[1] Until 1960 the area bore the name Královské Vinohrady; it was then administratively divided among five city districts, chiefly Prague 2, Prague 3 and Prague 10, and small parts also extend into Prague 1 and Prague 4.[1]
History of the area and the origin of the vineyards
The first written mention of grape growing in Prague dates from 1197.[1] The area of present-day Vinohrady and Žižkov changed decisively under Charles IV. Before then Cistercian monks had grown vines in places, but the area bounded by Vítkov hill, the settlements of Nusle and Vršovice, Rybník, Chudobice, Poříčí and Olšany was otherwise without settlements.[2]
In 1348 Charles IV ordered the planting of vineyards and gardens around the towns of Prague and had noble vines brought from Austria and Burgundy.[2] On 16 February 1358 he issued a decree under which people were to plant vines on all the hills within three miles of Prague. Landowners were to plant the infertile part of their property with vines and begin preparations within fourteen days. The new vintners were exempt from tithes for twelve years and from the ungelt and land taxes permanently.[1][2]
Formation of an independent municipality and its name
By a gubernial decree of 13 June 1849, the farmsteads beyond the Slepá, Žitná, Koňská, Horská and Poříčská gates were joined into the independent municipality of Vinohrady.[2] From 1867, on the basis of a decision of 7 January, the municipality was named the Royal Vinohrady Municipality. The chronicler of the time recorded that the name was meant to recall "the most famous and at the same time the most beautiful period of Czech history", that is, the age of Charles IV.[2]
The municipality was divided into Vinohrady I and Vinohrady II on 16 July 1875. On 7 August 1877 the Ministry of the Interior, on the proposal of the mayor Karel Hartig, permitted Vinohrady I to adopt the name Žižkov and Vinohrady II to keep the old name Královské Vinohrady.[2] According to a different timeline in the Prague 2 encyclopedia, the municipality separated by detaching its northern part and creating the independent Žižkov as early as 1875.[1]
On 26 September 1879 Královské Vinohrady was raised to the status of a town. After the separation of Žižkov, the Vinohrady council dealt with arranging its own municipal affairs; right after its first session it decided to establish a school, a town hall and other offices, and it kept the name Královské Vinohrady.[1]
Building development and the creation of Greater Prague
From the 1880s to the 1920s, extensive building activity took place in Královské Vinohrady. In 1913, more than 84,000 inhabitants lived in 1,682 houses in Vinohrady.[1] By 1882 a waterworks had been built in Podolí, which supplied Vinohrady households with water, and in 1897 an electric tram line running across Vinohrady territory began operating.[1] During this period a stone theatre, the Národní dům, the Neo-Gothic Church of Saint Ludmila, a number of schools, parks and a modern hospital were built here.[1]
On the basis of a law passed in 1920, Greater Prague came into being on 1 January 1922, and Královské Vinohrady became its largest part.[1]
The division of 1960 and present status
Since 1960 Vinohrady has been divided among the city districts of Prague 2, Prague 3 and Prague 10, and small parts also lie in Prague 1 and Prague 4.[1] Together with Žižkov and Vršovice, Vinohrady has belonged to an urban heritage zone since 1993.[1]
Coat of arms
At the beginning of 1890 Emperor Franz Joseph I granted the town of Královské Vinohrady heraldic privileges. The coat of arms shows a silver wall with a gate and golden battlements on a green lawn; on the wall stands a figure of Saint Wenceslas holding a vine branch with a bunch of grapes. According to legends, this saint prepared the Mass wine himself.[1]