7 Bartolomějská Street

Bartolomějská no. 7

The events in Prague in May 1945 are indelibly associated with the office building at 5 and 7 Bartolomějská Street, under the communist regime generally known as the ‘Kachlíkárna’ (State Security Tile House).

During the war, the main shelter of the Prague Air Defence Police was situated in the basement of this building. In May 1945, it became the base for the Bartoš Command. František Bürger, the leading official of this illegal resistance organisation, managed to engage the air defence police, in addition to the employees of the Electric Enterprises of the City of Prague and members of the Financial Guard and the Luftschutz. Thanks to their efforts, the Bartoš Command gained access to the communication and administration police apparatus, including a separate communication exchange with 35 devices connected to the police and state network, as well as lines for communication with six police stations.

The documentary film by Otakar Vávra Cesta k barikádám (Road to Barricades, 1946) offers a glimpse into this rather uncomfortable operation in the cramped spaces of the anti-raid shelter.

General Kutlvašr and his staff in the Bartoš headquarters underground shelter of the Prague Air Defence Police in Bartolomějská Street, May 1945. Photo archive of the Military History Institute.