This mural is found inside the Anděl metro station on the west bank of the Vltava river. The station was originally called Moskevská (Moscow station) and was built in partnership with Russian designers who also constructed a station for the Moscow metro which was named after Prague. In early 1990 the name was changed to Anděl after the district the station is found in. The station also features several mural panels on the walls of the station beside the platforms, with typical Communist themes ranging from world peace to Cosmonauts. These panels were removed in 1990, but within a few months they were returned to their places in the belief that not all reminders of the Communist period should be eradicated. In the vestibule at the top of the escalators of the northern entrance there was a large mosaic of the skyline of Moscow, a symbol of the common socialist friendship between the cities. This mural was finally removed in the year 2000. The mural seen in this photo is still in place in the south entrance hall, and continues to commemorate the friendship of the people of Prague and Moscow, while reminding passers-by of a historical period that shouldn't be forgotten. The district of Anděl has historically been a working class area with left-leaning political tendencies, and the citizens who lived there during socialism were some of the most loyal to the regime. Communist murals have been removed in almost all other parts of Prague, but these few remnants of the past have been left untouched in Anděl station, likely because residents of the district have resisted their removal.
"The district of Anděl has historically been a working class area with left-leaning political tendencies, and the citizens who lived there during socialism were some of the most loyal to the regime"
ReplyDelete....I was born and bred in the Andel district and never heard anything like this (reputation of local population regarding above-average loyalty to the regime).
Where did you get this information?:)