Hotel Olympik is a large hotel in the Karlín area of the 8th district of Prague, Czech Republic.[1][2] The hotel is near the housing facility Invalidovna and the stadium of Čechie Karlín.[3] Hotel Olympik is located at 138 Sokolovská Street.

Hotel Olympik
Hotel Olympik with the facade from 2015
The Hotel Olympik is located in the Czech Republic
The Hotel Olympik is located in the Czech Republic
Location within the Czech Republic
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeHotel
AddressSokolovská 615/138, Prague, 186 00
Town or cityPrague
CountryCzech Republic
Coordinates50°05′54″N 14°28′06″E / 50.098320°N 14.468289°E / 50.098320; 14.468289
Height73 m (240 ft)
Technical details
Floor count21
Other information
Number of rooms306
Website
www.olympik.cz/en/olympik/

History

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The Hotel Olympik was designed by a team of architects led by Josef Polak between 1967 and 1971.[4] The hotel was opened to the public in 1973. The building is 73 metres (240 ft) high, it has 21 floors and overlooks the city quarter Karlín.[5]

The hotel was finished in 1974,[1] and at the time had 715 beds.[6] A fire in the hotel in 1995 took 8 lives and resulted in damages of 35 million CZK.

In 1995, the hotel was the scene for one of the biggest fires in Czech Republic history, resulting in 8 deaths and 34 injuries. The fire started on the 11th floor of the hotel, and is believed to be caused due to an overheating appliance.

On 5 October 2008 thieves broke into the hotel safe and stole about the equivalent to CZK 1.000.000,00 in different currencies ( about US$55,500.00 ) and a large number of shares from the Olympic Holding Company.[7]

In 2015 the hotel was given a new brightly coloured facade.[8]

1980 Summer Olympics

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According to some experts, Hotel Olympik was built in preparation of Prague's bid to host the 1980 Summer Olympics.[9][10] The housing area Invalidovna would have been the Olympic village. After Moscow placed a bid, Prague withdrew its application.[11] The hotel is not in a tourist area; it hosts many conferences and business gatherings.

Photogallery

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References

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This article is based on a translation of the Czech Wikipedia article Hotel Olympik.

  1. ^ a b Miroslav Khol (1982). Naše Praha. Edice Pragensia. p. 204.
  2. ^ Encounter. Martin Secker & Warburg. 1981. p. 53.
  3. ^ "Olympiáda mohla být v Praze dávno před Bémem. Nejblíže jí byli komunisti Robert Břešťan ". HlídacíPes.org - 9.8.2016
  4. ^ Jane Pavitt (2000). Prague. Manchester University Press. pp. 126–. ISBN 978-0-7190-3916-4.
  5. ^ Jaroslava Staňková; Jiří Štursa; Svatopluk Voděra and Jaroslav Staněk (Ing. arch.) (1992). Prague: eleven centuries of architecture. PAV. p. 335.
  6. ^ Czechoslovak Life. Orbis. 1976. p. 70.
  7. ^ "Z hotelu Olympik někdo ukradl trezor s akciemi za 250 miliónů". Novinky.cz, October 5, 2008
  8. ^ "Nová fasáda hotelu Olympik má barvu ohně, lidem připomněla tragický požár". iDNES.cz, 30 October 2015
  9. ^ "Praguescape: Unrealised utopia". By Kristina Alda | Prague Daily Monitor | 2 June 2009
  10. ^ Praha chce olympiádu a už se začíná chystat, 2. března 2001, iDnes.cz, 2. 3. 2001, MF Dnes
  11. ^ Martin Bublák: Československý olympismus v období komunismu 1948–1989, diplomová práce, Brno, Masarykova univerzita, pedagogická fakulta, katedra historie, 2008
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