Štvanice stadium
Encyclopedia
Štvanice stadium is situated on Štvanice Island and is ranked among the oldest stadiums in Prague
. The stadium was in its heyday in the first half of the 20th Century, but has been in decline since 1961.
was played. After this, Štvanice stadium became the Ice skating
centre of Prague for 30 years and countless numbers of hockey-players and figure skaters were brought up there.
The Štvanice stadium hosted the biggest hockey matches of the day. The Czech ice hockey team won several medals at the Ice Hockey World Championships
, including:
The next important date for the Stadium was 11 February 1955. The first televised hockey match was broadcast on this day.
But it was not a happy ending. In Summer 2002 Prague was hit by catastrophic flooding and a big part of the stadium was damaged. Sadly, not even The Czech Federation of Ice-hockey remembered to help. Only thanks to APeX CLUB people could again skate in the stadium in October 2002.
Today Štvanice stadium is a national cultural monument and it is protected by the state. But there are still some who call for it to be demolished.
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. The stadium was in its heyday in the first half of the 20th Century, but has been in decline since 1961.
Early days
The stadium was built in the early 1930s and is entirely made of wood. On 17 January 1931, the first hockey match on the synthetic iceIce
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
was played. After this, Štvanice stadium became the Ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
centre of Prague for 30 years and countless numbers of hockey-players and figure skaters were brought up there.
The Štvanice stadium hosted the biggest hockey matches of the day. The Czech ice hockey team won several medals at the Ice Hockey World Championships
Ice Hockey World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...
, including:
- 1933 (bronze)
- 1938 (bronze)
- 1947 (gold)
- 1959 (bronze).
The next important date for the Stadium was 11 February 1955. The first televised hockey match was broadcast on this day.
Decline of Štvanice stadium
Since 1961 a new stadium on the fairground has hosted these major matches. Subsequently Štvanice stadium started to grow old and wasteaway. Only regional ice-hockey and public skating kept it alive. In several years the stadium had to be closed due to poor repair. As late as 1998, civil association APeX CLUB carried out repairs and Štvanice stadium was reopened. It was open for public skating and hockey-players returned.But it was not a happy ending. In Summer 2002 Prague was hit by catastrophic flooding and a big part of the stadium was damaged. Sadly, not even The Czech Federation of Ice-hockey remembered to help. Only thanks to APeX CLUB people could again skate in the stadium in October 2002.
Today Štvanice stadium is a national cultural monument and it is protected by the state. But there are still some who call for it to be demolished.