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Between tradition and modernity : The Czechoslovak vision of "socialist city" in the 1950's

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2018

Abstract

The rebuilt cities in the postwar Czechoslovakia were conceived as representative symbols of the new communist regime and a coherent and formative environment for the "new socialist man". The Soviet Union and the official aesthetic doctrine of socialist realism were presented as primary sources of inspiration for the Czech architects.

Nevertheless, their real projects did not always fully respond to the ideological tenets and often oscillated specifically between traditional and modernist influences. The article will briefly describe the main principles of the "socialist city planning" during the 1950's and analyses what made them "socialist" in comparison to 1) the heritage of modernism and 2) the heritage of the classical architecture.