1832 - Zemská koruna, U Zlaté koruny and U zemské brány

The photograph shows a detail of the crown above the entrance of house no. 28 on 28. října street. This is the former hotel Zemská koruna; documentation for the property sometimes also mentions the name U Zlaté koruny or U zemské brány. The building has now been freshly renovated, and the appearance of its facade slightly returns to its look from the 1930s.

The foundation of the house probably dates back to a period earlier than the first third of the 19th century.

This is indicated, on the one hand, by its recording on the cadastral map from 1832, where it is depicted in red, meaning that even then it was a brick building, secured against fire. Other historical elements include the Gothic cellars with vaults and the construction of the ground floor. The construction above ground level is already Renaissance, with a more significant reconstruction in the mid-19th century. The wing facing the courtyard is modern.

In the first third of the 20th century, the house was owned by the leather merchant (Lederhändler) Vinzenz Nagl, who had his shop on the ground floor. In 1929, he carried out an extension and addition to part of the house.

In 1951, the ground floor of the building was leased to the production cooperative Fotografia Pardubice, which established its premises here. This remained in the building until 1987.
In the second half of the 20th century, the house underwent many structural modifications; larger ones included the built-in rooms in the attic (1965), facade repair (1967), and the conversion of the photo studio spaces into residential rooms (1989).

The property with 7 residential rooms and two kitchens was bought in 1988 by Město Lanškroun from a private owner, and in April 1990 it was sold to the spouses Václav and Eva Leníček, who built the hotel Zemská koruna out of it. At that time, the hotel with its restaurant facilities became a sought-after place. On the ground floor of the hotel, a snack bar with a capacity of 34 seats was situated; in the basement, there was a wine bar for 32 visitors in two rooms. On the first floor, there was a restaurant with a capacity of 32 seats and three single rooms with private bathroom facilities. The attic was designed as a three-star hotel with three rooms.

In the autumn of 1992, Václav Leníček ceremonially opened a Chinese restaurant called Zlatý drak on the first floor of the hotel Zemská koruna. Two Chinese chefs from the Shanghai hotel Jegull prepared original Chinese dishes here, and guests were served by a Chinese waitress. For Lanškroun at that time, it was an unprecedented event!

After three years, there was a change of operator in the wine bar and snack bar. In 2001, another tenant took over the operation of the ground floor, rebuilding the premises into a bar with a gaming room.

The current owner has sensitively reconstructed the property into a residential building, and during the modification of the facade, emphasized the architectural elements, cornices, and linings around the windows. The house is over 9 meters wide at the street front, and its depth is almost 20 meters. Access to the property is also possible from Hradební street.

Marie Hrynečková

Photo:
1 - Detail of the crown above the entrance door.
2 and 3 - House no. 28 is part of the street terraced housing of similar multi-story houses.
4 - Section from the cadastral map from 1832. The yellow color represents wooden buildings, not secured against fire. Brick buildings, secured against fire, are shown in red.
5 - Sketch of house no. 28 from 1931. Vinzenz Nagl traded in leather; above the middle shop window is the inscription Lederhändler (building authority archive).
6 - Drawing of the house from the mid-20th century (building authority archive).
7 - In 1965, the built-in rooms in the attic were completed (building authority archive).
8 - House no. 28 with a pink and white facade is in the right part of the photograph (archive of Stanislav Vimr).
9 - In 2018, just before the last reconstruction, the facade of the house was light blue.
10 - An article from Teslácký svět from October 16, 1992, about the ceremonial opening of the Chinese restaurant Zlatý drak in the hotel Zemská koruna.
11 - A photograph from the ceremonial opening of the Chinese restaurant in the hotel Zemská koruna on October 4, 1992.