Petschek Palace, Neoclassical bank building in New Town, Czech Republic
Petschek Palace is a five-storey neoclassical building of dark grey stone on the corner of Politických věznů and Washingtonova streets. Its lower two storeys are rusticated, the ashlar upper facade has tall rectangular windows, and a steep roof of pale green glass panels with metal ribs tops it. A columned stone porch with two flags stands on the right side.
The building was constructed between 1923 and 1929 by banker Julius Petschek and later served as the Gestapo headquarters during German occupation. This period left deep marks on both the structure and its story.
The building's nickname, Pečkárna, comes from the Petschek family name. In the basement memorial, a reconstruction of a Gestapo torture chamber has been displayed since the 1990s, moved from another room. A plaque on the corner commemorates the resistance members who died here.
The building is equipped with modern systems that function to this day, including air conditioning, pneumatic mail tubes, and two original paternoster elevators. These technical features allow visitors to understand how a modern 1920s bank building was equipped.
Prisoners were held in former safes converted into cells, or in a room nicknamed "the cinema", where they sat in rows facing a white wall and mentally projected their stories while awaiting interrogation. Since the 1990s the basement memorial has displayed a reconstruction of a Gestapo torture chamber moved from another room.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,586 contributors worldwide.
