Anděl is a neighbourhood in
Prague 5
Prague 5, formally the Prague Municipal District (''Městská čast Praha 5''), is a second-tier municipality in Prague. The administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name consists of municipal districts Prague 5 and Slivenec.
Pr ...
's central district of
Smíchov
Smíchov () is (since 1909) a district of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and is part of Prague 5. It is on the west bank of the Vltava river.
History
Between 1945 and 1989, the district contained a monument dedicated to Soviet ta ...
, centered on a busy interchange. The name means '
angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles includ ...
' in
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech ...
and originates from the 19th century ''U zlatého anděla'' (Golden Angel) pub originally named after a fresco in the gable depicting an angel. The painting of an angel was preserved after its demolition and is now displayed nearby the metro station entrance.
Anděl is an important traffic center.
Prague Metro's
Line B runs beneath it,
Anděl Station serving the area.
Tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...
way lines in north–south and east–west direction cross there (lines 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14 and 20). Otherwise, it is a
pedestrian zone
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
.
After redevelopment in the late 1990s, when French architect
Jean Nouvel
Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and '' Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has ...
designed an office building called
Golden Angel (''Zlatý Anděl'') above the Metro station with a picture of an angel from the movie ''
Wings of Desire
''Wings of Desire'' (, ; ) is a 1987 romantic fantasy film written by Wim Wenders, Peter Handke and Richard Reitinger, and directed by Wenders. The film is about invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of its h ...
'' and quotes from
Rainer Maria Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogn ...
on its
facade, Anděl became one of the busiest parts of the city, with many offices of national and international companies. Across it (in the north-west quadrant), one of Prague's biggest shopping malls,
Nový Smíchov, can be found, including
multiplex cinema
A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens within a single complex. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into s ...
Cinema City; another multiplex, Cinestar (former Village Cinemas), is nearby in the Anděl City complex.
Smíchov Synagogue is also in the area.
Gallery
Image:Busy centre of Smichov Prague CZ 713.jpg, Anděl crossroad from Nádražní Street viewed towards Štefánikova Street in the north.
Image:Smichov synagogue.jpg, Smíchov Synagogue from northwest, Zlatý Anděl on the left
Image:Praha, Anděl, Nádražní ulice.jpg, Anděl from further south; Zlatý Anděl complex on the left
Image:Andel City.jpg, Anděl City with The Village Cinemas multiplex (now a part of the CineStar cinema chain)
Districts of Prague
Streets in Prague
Smíchov
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