Strahov Stadium

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Strahov Stadium as seen from Petřín lookout tower

Strahov Stadium from northwest

Interior of the stadium from northeast corner (2006)

The Strahov Stadium (Strahovský stadion in Czech) is a stadium in the Strahov district of Prague, Czech Republic. It is the second largest stadium in the world after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, seating nearly 250,000. Construction began on a wooden stadium in 1926, and was replaced by cement grandstands in 1932. Further construction occurred in 1948 and 1975. The playing field, surrounded by seating on all sides, is 63,500 square metres. Contemporarily the stadium serves to Sparta Prague as a training centre with 8 football pitches (6 pitches of standard sizes and 2 futsal pitches). The original stadium dates to the First Republic between the World Wars and served as a venue for Sokol displays of synchronized gymnastics on a massive scale. It was later used for large displays during the communist era. Performances with several hundreds of gymnasts making various complex formations and exercising identically while accompanied by tunes from traditional folk music attracted attention of many visitors. Each time, among the widely popular shows were those of young well-trained recruits who wore only boxer shorts while on the display or women dancing in miniskirts... The groups of gymnasts (unlike the soldiers who were ordered to practise and participate) were put together from keen local Sokol atletic association members who regurarly trained for the show throughout the year prior the event, which repeated every five years. The ambiguous name of the performance, Spartakiáda, referred to quondam power and strength of once uprising slaves led by Spartacus. In the last decade several studies have looked at adaptive reuse and preservation of this unique structure. The stadium is sited on a prominent hill overlooking the old city. It can be accessed by taking the funicular up the hill through the gardens.