Poruba Urban Heritage Zone

The first part of the Poruba district to be completed was a stylistically unified complex of buildings dating back to the 1950s and 1960s. Since 1 March, 2003 this part of Poruba has been listed as an urban heritage zone. The dominant architectural style is socialist realism, which at the time was seen as a symbolic expression of bold new trends in urban living. Even today, the layout and architecture of the complex – offering ample green spaces – provides a very pleasant environment for its inhabitants. The style of the buildings, and the broad avenues between them, echoes the socialist principles that were in vogue at the time of construction.

However, the architects also attempted to incorporate motifs from Czech history, such as the Renaissance-style sgraffito work, statues and other ornamental features of the buildings. However, these decorations were forced to conform with the dictates of the era, and so cherubs and angels made way for schoolchildren and manual workers. Many of the buildings in Poruba feature pictorial house signs above their entrances, as if the architects were hoping for a return to the era of crafts, trades and small businesses. The iconic Poruba arch was designed as the gateway to the housing complex.

The combination of socialist realism and pastiche historical motifs is closely related to American architecture of the 1920s (for example the New York Supreme Court) as well as to Russian socialist realism.