Housing estates stood for years, but the metro didn’t run

By 1989, the Prague metro already had its three existing lines, though they were shorter than today. In terms of length, the network was roughly half the size it is today (32.5 kilometers). Political changes made their way into the Prague subway as early as February 1990, when the city council decided to rename 12 stations (ideologically charged names like Leninova, Mládežnická, Družby, Kosmonautů, and Fučíkova disappeared). The new names were meant to reflect the location and the neighborhoods in which they are situated. Of the five stations we mentioned, they are now Dejvická, Pankrác, Opatov, Háje, and Nádraží Holešovice.

The replacement of all signs and maps coincided with the fall opening of another section of Metro Line B from Florenc to Českomoravská. Line B remained the line that drew the most attention throughout the entire decade. Until the mid-1990s, it connected only Libeň with Nové Butovice, and key housing estates at both ends of the city remained without metro service. Residents in both the eastern and western parts of Prague had to rely on buses, even though buildings had already been standing along the planned route for several years. The metro was supposed to be the backbone of transportation here from the start, but reality arrived late.

The metro rumbled above ground

Even the socialist regime struggled with project delays. After the revolution, moreover, the metro ceased to be a key state project (the opening date for a new section had previously been tied, for example, to early November due to the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution), and the responsibility for raising funds fell entirely on Prague.

Due to a lack of funds, there was even a threat that the section of Line B to Zličín would be mothballed. However, this proved to be an even more complicated solution than completing the route, and Prague went into debt because of the construction. The Jihozápadní Město housing estate gained a connection to the city center before the end of 1994. On the other side of the capital, construction fell behind schedule by about three years—Prague residents were able to ride to Černý Most in 1998. However, trains were still passing through the construction site, and the Kolbenova and Hloubětín stations did not open until later years.

The track confidently emerged above ground in both of these sections. Not that it hadn’t done so before—Line C has a station with a view at Vyšehrad and crosses the railway near Kačerov via a bridge. But it was the extension of Line B that brought longer elevated sections, which significantly impacted the surrounding landscape and public space.

The station halls replaced the centers of neighborhoods

The first half-kilometer-long tunnel can be found on Line B between the Hůrka and Lužiny stations. The structure is elegantly reflected in a pond in the middle of Central Park. When a train passes directly overhead, you’ll hear a faint rumbling. An above-ground structure was cheaper; there was even consideration of operating without a roof, which was standard for suburban lines in the West. Ultimately, however, concerns about noise and the old Soviet trains—which might not withstand sections exposed to rain and snow—sealed the deal.

The rest of the route runs through a shallow tunnel all the way to Zličín, though some stations peek out above ground. Natural light illuminates the platform at Hůrka, and Lužiny features one of the most striking postmodern decorations in public space—plastic palm trees encased in greenhouses shaped like a giant soccer ball. It is precisely here that the transformation of 1990s aesthetics is evident: lightness, playfulness, and a certain degree of exhibitionism.

Patrik Kotas also contributed to Lužiny, fully unleashing his enthusiasm for high-tech in his design for the Rajská zahrada station at the opposite end of Line B. He drew on the station’s pre-existing unconventional layout, where the platforms are stacked one above the other at different levels. He glazed the entire station—which was not originally planned—and opened it up to views from the surrounding area. The plaza in front of the building serves as the housing estate’s square and hosts events such as farmers’ markets. Here, the metro has thus created not only a transportation hub but a new local center.

The design of the tunnel section leading to the terminal at Černý Most also took shape in a similarly spontaneous manner. At the time of opening, it was a simple concrete structure. Patrik Kotas was only asked to design its appearance after the fact. It was only during subsequent work that the idea arose to add a pedestrian promenade to the roof.

The collapse of ČKD affected both stations and trains

In stark contrast to this opulence is the Kolbenova station on Line B, designed by Chalupa architekti. The station was intended to serve ČKD employees, but the company went bankrupt during the turbulent 1990s, and the station thus became one of the least-used. The concourse was built between the massive reinforced concrete columns of the planned eight-story building and still awaits the full development of the surrounding neighborhood. New passengers are greeted by a simple glass wall displaying the station’s name and exposed concrete combined with shimmering metal above the escalators.

At the same time, Prague was grappling with the obsolescence of the trains and all the technology in the tunnels, and was striving to bring safety systems and cameras up to Western standards. Even today, we can still find old Soviet escalators in Prague, which some people favor because of their speed. However, their replacement began soon at the busiest stations. At Můstek (Line A), quieter (and slower) escalators from a German manufacturer have been in use since 1993.

There was no money for a complete replacement of the rolling stock, so some of the trains from Russia underwent a major facelift and continue to serve Lines A and B to this day. Line C uses Czech-made M1 cars, which were again designed by Patrik Kotas. However, problems faced by the giant engineering company ČKD during the economic transformation caused a delay in deliveries lasting several years. The company changed names and eventually ceased to exist entirely. Nevertheless, seven trainsets were successfully exported to Venezuela, where they carry passengers in the city of Maracaibo.

Floods, cuts and a new chapter

At the turn of the millennium, the metro faced another challenge. The DEVADE exhibition traces the history of the metro’s architecture up to 2004, when the Czech Republic joined the European Union. At that time, Line C was being extended northward. However, cost-cutting decisions were already made during the planning phase—the route through Bohnice and the station in Troja were definitively abandoned. The floods of 2002 marked a major turning point. Water seeped into the underground through leaks and even through the section under construction, paralyzing a large part of the network.

The 1990s also transformed everyday life in the metro. The concourses began to fill with shops, currency exchange offices, and the first advertising spaces; the underground opened up to commerce and turned into transit shopping arcades. Travel was no longer just a move from point A to point B, but became part of the emerging urban economy. The above-ground sections and some stations still retain the atmosphere of that era today. Moreover, the metro will take you to many of the buildings featured by the authors of the DEVADE project. Perhaps the best way to experience it is to walk through the exhibition at CAMP and then hop on the “B” line to experience the 1990s firsthand.