Prague Concert Life, 1850-1881

Venue details

Venue name: Seminary Institute for the Blind

Venue rooms (type):

Seminary Institute for the Blind. Founded by Alois Klár in 1807 and originally located on Hradčany (Strahov). It later moved to a purpose built location in the Little Quarter (on the street now named Klárov), the foundation stone for which was laid in 1836 but the complex of building was only fully completed in the 1880s. On this site a purpose-built chapel for the Institute was certainly in use by the 1850s, being utilised for ceremonial events and religious services given by the Institute. Prager Zeitung 15/10/1850 published a notice from the committee of the Blind Institute recalling the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone for this Little Quarter complex by the then Emperor Ferdinand on 18th September 1836. This new complex is located in the Little Quarter [Malá strana] on the street named Klárov (after Klár, the founder of the Institute).

The original Hradčany site seems to have continued in use for some years;
Národní listy 26/7/1861 for example reported that ‘On Tuesday 23rd July took place the annual public examinations in the educational institute for poor blind children on Hradčany.’ Prager Zeitung 27/7/1862. The critic related ‘On 24 July took place the public examinations for the pupils of the Hradschin [Hradčany] Blind Institute’.

Concerning the new buildings of the Institute, the complex of buildings became a government office in 1946.

Seminary Institute for the Blind - Ústav pro slepce / Soukromý ústav pro výchovu a léčení slepců v Čechách / Instituts für erwachsene Blinde / Versorgungs- und Beschäftigungsanstalt für erwachsene Blinde in Böhmen

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Events taking place at this venue (8)