“Ever heard of a place that transformed from a vineyard to a Nazi hideout?” That’s the tale of Klíčov. It is a vanished homestead in Prague 9. More precisely it’s in Vysočany. Find it on Nad Klíčovem street at number 81.
Klíčov’s story begins with vines. There was an old road from Vysočany to Kbely. Along it a vineyard thrived until 1914. In 1860 a wine house was built. Later the owner added a coaching inn. This inn included a garden restaurant.
After 1918 Klíčov saw big changes. In 1936 the inn was rebuilt into a hotel. Then in 1943 the German army moved in. They built a communications center for Kbely airport. They walled off the cellar and ran cables to the airfield. After the war the hotel became housing for ČKD workers.
But the story doesn’t end there. Klíčov has underground passages. In the late 1950s the Czechoslovak army explored them. A detailed survey followed in 1975. Cavers found that the cellar was accessible from the ground floor. It was a short staircase away. The cellar was 85 meters long and tunnel-shaped. Workers carved it by hand into chalk sandstone. Three vertical shafts connected it to the surface. The rock walls were arched.
Water still flows beneath Klíčov. Springs emerge from two fissures. They yield 0.4 and 0.3 liters per second. East of the former inn is a small old quarry. It lies above the road. It contains remnants of unknown underground spaces. A massive collapse blocks further exploration.
Today Klíčov’s name lives on. The DPP Klíčov bus garages bear its name. These garages remind us of the homestead. It once stood here. Klíčov transformed itself many times. It went from vineyard to inn to hotel to military base. Finally it became workers’ housing. Each layer adds to its unique past. The underground passages whisper tales of hidden operations. The flowing springs recall its natural origins. Klíčov is a reminder of Prague’s complex history. It is a history hidden in plain sight.