Záložna v Přelouči, Renaissance Revival bank building in Přelouč, Czech Republic.
Záložna in Přelouč is a three-storey Renaissance Revival building on Masaryk Square, completed in 1901 to Rudolf Kříženecký's design. Its facade carries rich stucco and sgraffito decoration, and a massive tower with an imitation of a covered gallery dominates the southwest corner. The structure echoes Italian Renaissance architecture and fills the square's entire eastern side.
The Občanská záložna was founded in Přelouč in 1862 as a civic cooperative savings bank. Its new headquarters on Masaryk Square was built between 1899 and 1901 to the design of Prague architect Rudolf Kříženecký, a pupil of Josef Schulz. The building filled the square's entire eastern side and echoed the town schools completed on the north side in 1888. It was listed as a cultural monument in 1958.
The building's name recalls the Občanská záložna, a civic cooperative savings bank founded in Přelouč in 1862, which commissioned the structure as its headquarters. Its large hall still serves the town: the František Filipovský Awards for contributions to Czech dubbing are presented there each year.
The building stands on the east side of Masaryk Square, filling the whole eastern edge of the square. Its southwest corner carries the tower that completes the town skyline, so the tower and the sgraffito facade are best seen from the square itself. The partly sloping ground means the building compensates for the eastern slope.
The building follows mathematical proportions based on Renaissance principles that were applied when planning the financial spaces. This subtle geometric order is visible in the distribution of windows and the height differences between floors.
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