MINERS’ HOUSE
Introduction
The Miners’ House was constructed in 1950 next to a Renaissance building dating from 1541 that had served as a post office. Two additional Renaissance houses were demolished to make way for the new structure. The building was intended to emphasise the importance of mining for the town and to serve as a modern social centre during the period of intensive uranium ore extraction.
The structure included a cinema hall on the ground floor and a large hall on the upper floor for balls, theatre performances, and other cultural events. Several clubrooms for interest groups and miners’ associations were also part of the complex. In the same year, the Radium cinema, which had been operating provisionally in a former tobacco factory, was closed, and its function was taken over by the new Miners’ House.
History
The ceremonial opening was accompanied by an inaugural meeting during which miners declared commitments to fulfil and exceed the state production plan for uranium mining. The highlight of the celebration was a preview screening of the Soviet film “The Fall of Berlin.” The official premiere of the film subsequently took place in Karlovy Vary during the International Film Festival.
The building provided rehearsal space for the miners’ brass band as well as facilities for miners’ associations. It included a billiard room and a chess room. Meetings of the National Committee were held here, and a sombre chapter of its history involved sessions of the State Court. Nevertheless, cultural events such as balls, dances, theatre performances, and film screenings predominated.
The cinema hall ranked among the most modern of its time. It featured a widescreen projection surface, the first in the then West Bohemian Region and one of the first in Czechoslovakia. Festival films were screened here as part of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. During the first half of 1989 alone, 746 screenings were held with a total attendance of 14,217 spectators.
In 1991, on the occasion of the 475th anniversary of the town, the renovated cinema hall was provisionally reopened for a School Academy performance presenting scenes from the town’s history, performed by pupils of the Marie Curie-Skłodowska Primary School. In 1992, screenings were held until May on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays; from May to October they were held on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
At the end of 1992, a fire damaged the attic and roof, causing damage estimated at two million crowns. This fire was one of several that affected the town during that period. A local resident was later convicted of arson.
Description
The Miners’ House was conceived as a multifunctional building combining cultural, social, and administrative functions. The ground floor housed a modern cinema hall, while the upper floor contained a large ballroom and theatre hall. The layout also included clubrooms, technical facilities, and spaces for association activities. Architecturally, the building corresponded to post-war construction of the 1950s, emphasising functionality and representational character.
Restoration
The building was sold into private ownership during the small-scale privatisation process. The last owner was the Russian-Ukrainian company VP Select. Its proprietors planned to convert the structure into a spa hotel with 120 beds while preserving the cinema hall for public use. Reconstruction was scheduled to begin in 2005 but was abandoned due to the economic crisis.
The technical condition of the building gradually deteriorated. A wooden fence was erected around it. Because the owners failed to pay local fees for the occupation of public space, the town initiated an auction. For 73,000 crowns, the town purchased the property with the intention of demolishing it, as reconstruction was no longer feasible.
Demolition began in early July 2013. By October and November of that year, the building had effectively been reduced to its two-storey basement. The resulting open space was provisionally landscaped, with plans to create a small park with information boards about the history of the Miners’ House, benches, and a children’s playground, or alternatively a parking area. Both projects have so far awaited implementation.
