Wenkeův obchodní dům

Wenke's Department Store is one of the most significant landmarks of modernist architecture in Jaroměř, a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic, close to the Polish border. The building stands on Husova Street in the Pražské Předměstí district and has housed the town museum for decades.

Where does the name come from?

The story begins in 1873, when Albert Wenke, an entrepreneur from the Kladsko (Kłodzko) region just across the border, settled in Jaroměř. He produced decorative cardboard goods finished with a shell-inlay technique, made for seaside resorts, and soon opened a haberdashery shop on the town square. Business grew steadily enough that the firm needed more retail space. After his father's death in 1905, the company passed to his son, Josef Wenke, who decided to build an entirely new, modern department store, since the existing premises of the firm "A. Wenke a syn" ("A. Wenke and Son") had become too small.

Who designed the building?

Josef Wenke looked for an architect whose vision would match the ambitions of the new building. He settled on Josef Gočár, at the time a young architect just beginning his career as a student of Jan Kotěra. Gočár would go on to become one of the leading figures of twentieth-century Czech architecture, known for his cubist and functionalist buildings across the country. The department store in Jaroměř, built between 1909 and 1911, is one of his earliest works, yet already remarkably bold.

What makes the building so distinctive?

Gočár used a load-bearing system of reinforced-concrete columns and slabs, which freed each floor of the building from dividing walls and created open, uninterrupted interior space — a genuinely revolutionary approach for its time. The façade was projected forward from the main structure and hung from cantilevered brackets, with its surface almost entirely given over to glazing. This combination of a light steel frame and a glass skin was ahead of its time, not only in the Czech context but within European architecture as a whole in the early twentieth century. The building itself is a two-storey row house set into the street front of Husova Street, yet its glazed façade immediately set it apart from its neighbours.

What can visitors see today?

Since 1947 the building has housed the Municipal Museum of Jaroměř. The exhibitions cover the history of the town and the surrounding region, and the architecture of the interior — with its open, undivided spaces designed by Gočár — is often as interesting to visitors as the exhibits themselves. Because of its historical and architectural value, the building has been declared a National Cultural Monument, making it one of the most important examples of modernist architecture in the Hradec Králové Region.

How to get there?

Wenke's Department Store stands in the centre of Jaroměř, on Husova Street in the Pražské Předměstí district, within easy walking distance of the railway station and the main square. Jaroměř lies close to the Polish-Czech border, making it a convenient day-trip destination for travellers coming from Lower Silesia.

When to visit?

The museum operates year-round, though it is worth checking current opening hours before a visit, as they can vary by season. Spring and autumn are good times to come — fewer crowds, and softer daylight that shows off the building's characteristic glazed façade to good effect.

Frequently asked questions

Who designed Wenke's Department Store? The building was designed by Josef Gočár, one of the most important Czech architects of the twentieth century, early in his career, and built between 1909 and 1911.

Why is the department store named after Wenke? It takes its name from the Wenke family — Albert, and later his son Josef — who ran a haberdashery business in Jaroměř and commissioned the new store.

What is inside the building today? Since 1947 it has housed the Municipal Museum of Jaroměř, with exhibitions on the town's and region's history.

What is architecturally special about the building? Its reinforced-concrete column-and-slab structure, which creates open interior space, and its projecting, fully glazed façade hung on cantilevered brackets — a design well ahead of its time.