Krematorium v Plzni, Public crematorium in Plzeň, Czech Republic.
The crematorium is a building with a Greek cross plan and a central ceremonial hall beneath a steep gabled roof with studio windows. Technical and administrative buildings stand on either side, complementing the overall composition.
Cremation societies were active in Plzeň from 1904, and in 1921 the Družstvo Krematorium cooperative won the city council over to a new building. Architect Hanuš Zápal's cheaper, more traditional design was chosen over Pavel Janák's modern counter-proposal. The Plzeň firm of František Vachta built it from November 1924, and it opened on 16 May 1926.
The shallow niches on the side walls of the ceremonial hall hold half-reliefs of a Slavic warrior and a mourning girl, placed there when the building opened in 1926. The hall itself is topped by a flat coffered ceiling and a rectangular apse, with a tribune and a singers' choir behind a wooden balustrade.
The building is a notable example of interwar architecture and can be viewed from outside. Access to interior spaces is typically limited and requires advance inquiry.
The first design by Hanuš Zápal was rejected in 1923; Pavel Janák then drew a modern, economical counterproposal, yet Zápal's revised, cheaper and more traditional plan was built. A water basin like Dresden's was planned beside the crematorium but dropped for lack of money.
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