Markéta Svobodová – Miroslav Herchl
The Club of Czech Tourists and, subsequently, the Club of Czechoslovak Tourists were important institutions in the formation of modern Czech and Czechoslovak society. This book explores one of the key areas of their activities: the construction of tourist infrastructure, with particular emphasis on mountain huts and shelters built by the clubs’ central organization and regional branches.
The book focuses primarily on the period of the First Czechoslovak Republic, when the CCT/CCCT considerably expanded its activities into Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia. A central role was played by the Prague headquarters and its Building Commission, established in 1919. The commission sought not only to initiate and coordinate the organization’s own building projects, but also to influence the design of buildings commissioned by individual regional branches and local sections throughout Czechoslovakia.
The book also examines the differences between buildings commissioned by the central organization and those constructed by regional branches. Projects commissioned by the Prague headquarters were often developed in collaboration with prominent architects and featured more ambitious architectural designs. Buildings constructed by regional branches, by contrast, tended to respond more closely to their local environment, making use of regional materials and adopting simpler architectural forms.
From the extensive number of huts and shelters built during the period, the authors have selected structures that are particularly significant to the history of the club, including buildings that have not survived, as well as those of notable architectural importance.
The book goes beyond the history of the CCT/CCCT’s building activities. Set within their broader historical context, the individual projects reveal the transformation of the club from its foundation to its dissolution in 1948. At the same time, the book presents tourist architecture as an integral part of the wider cultural and social development of Czechoslovak society.
Second expanded edition, colour illustrations, 432 pp., Prague – Artefactum 2026
ISBN 978-80-53018-33-3
Recommended retail price: CZK 650
