Prague, Warsaw, Zagreb and Bucharest are just a few of the best places to see Communist architecture in Europe.
Communist regimes were imposed across Central and Eastern Europe by the Soviet Union, under Josef Stalin, in the aftermath of World War Two.
As well as enforcing political co-operation with these countries, with the implicit threat of military subjugation if they went against the Moscow line, Soviet art and architecture was also exported westwards to the satellite regimes of the Warsaw Pact.
In this article I’ll show you the best examples of Communist-era architecture in European countries that are considered safe to visit at the time of writing. Firstly I’ll give a brief overview of architecture in Communist Europe after World War II. Then I’ll explain the history of each building, and the practicalities of getting there within each city.
Communist Architecture In Europe – Origins And History
The term ‘Communist architecture’ covers a very broad range indeed. Many stylistic ideas and artistic themes came directly from the Stalin-governed Soviet Union, where all forms of art and music (like in Nazi Germany) had to be state-sanctioned. If it didn’t meet state approval then there was a good chance the architect / artist / author would get a very long sentence in a Siberian gulag.
After World War II, the style in vogue in the Soviet Union was Socialist Realist. In art, this meant an emphasis on the great deeds of socialist workers, empowered proletarian workers shattering production records to build a great future for the USSR. In architecture, the first buildings to emerge in the influential Socialist Realist style were the so-called ‘Seven Sisters’ in Moscow.
All of these buildings shared a common element – a tall central tower. They all look similar – hence the nickname – and they all share the same inspiration, which to some might seem to be from an unlikely source: the Giralda Tower in Seville, Spain.
The Giralda was originally the minaret of a mosque, and later became the belltower of Seville’s vast Gothic Cathedral. I’ve always found it highly ironic that architects could draw inspiration from a symbol of a city that is one of the most exuberant I have ever visited. And yet these Giralda-influenced buildings would be the focal points of places that were utterly drab in comparison.
And just as surprisingly, the Seven Sisters and their successors across Europe are also influenced by New York’s early Art Deco skyscrapers, including the El Dorado and San Remo apartment buildings overlooking Central Park. Not that anyone would have admitted it, of course.
By the 1960s and 1970s Communist architecture had moved on. Concrete – often prefabricated – was widely used to construct apartments right across the Eastern Bloc. Many of these were built in variants of the Brutalist style also widely used by contemporaries in Western Europe and beyond.
And by the 1980s, as you’ll see from some of my Prague images below, things had taken a turn towards science fiction – a kind of retro-futuristic look markedly different from what had gone before.
And then a certain concrete Wall in Berlin came down in November 1989…..
Karl-Marx-Allee, Berlin (formerly East Berlin)
The fledgling East German state was one of the early recipients of Socialist Realist architecture from the USSR. Between 1950 and 1953, the showpiece Stalinallee was built through the East Berlin suburb of Friedrichshain.
The luxury apartments were built for workers and their families, and the facades were decorated with bas-reliefs depicting Berlin. The street – now known as Karl-Marx-Allee – runs from the twin towers of Frankfurter Tor (pictured above) and Strausberger Platz, on the edge of the city centre.
However, East Berlin’s great boulevard wasn’t all that it seemed. The bas-reliefs soon started falling off the fronts of the apartments, so covers had to be put up to protect pedestrians on the pavements below.
Tours: This excellent Karl-Marx-Allee walking tour focuses on architecture in the GDR (the former East Germany).
Getting there: U5 to Frankfurter Tor
See Also: 15 Best Berlin Cold War Sites To Explore
Alexanderplatz, Berlin (formerly East Berlin)
Communist architecture in Europe wasn’t just about large modernist buildings. It was also about huge open spaces, places that gave a sense of vast size, where enormous parades could also be held (Moscow’s Red Square being the most famous example).
Alexanderplatz was very much the main square of Communist East Berlin. The huge open plaza is surrounded by some of the most famous Berlin landmarks, and it’s the Fernsehturm (TV Tower) that dominates the view.
It was completed in 1969, and at 368 metres (1,207 feet) remains the tallest building in Germany. You can ascend to the viewing gallery in the orb of the tower, which gives you great views of the metropolis below. It still has its revolving restaurant, a classic ‘60s and ‘70s feature on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
The Fernsehturm was intended to be a statement and symbol of Socialist and state power, but it all rather backfired. When the sun sets in the west, it is reflected off the glass orb in the shape of a Christian cross – definitely not what General Secretary Erich Honecker had in mind!
Alexanderplatz has another famous Communist-era landmark, the Weltzeituhr (World Clock). This unusual 24-sided clock tells the time in all 24 time zones around the world. When it was inaugurated in 1969, there was a noticeable bias towards cities in Communist-controlled countries around the world. The likes of Vladivostok, Pyongyang, Nizhniy-Novgorod and Ashgabat remain, while some new names have been added, including Seoul, which was deliberately left off the original by the GDR authorities.
Tours: This East Berlin walking tour includes the Alexanderplatz area and Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse.
Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw
How to refuse an unwanted gift?
The history books will tell you that Poland was ‘liberated’ from the Nazis in 1945, but it was rather a case of one invader ousting another. Josef Stalin’s westward land grab swallowed up the newly reconstituted country. In 1952, the Soviets decided to bestow a gift on their neighbours to the west, a vast palace in the centre of Warsaw designed by Lev Rudnev, one of the architects of the Seven Sisters in Moscow.
At this time Stalin was still alive, and it was built over the following three years. The building was originally named after the dictator, but this was revoked when he was finally condemned three years after his death, in 1956.
The Palac Kultury I Nauki contains a concert hall (where the Rolling Stones played in 1967!), a cinema complex, two museums and four theatres. The building is 778 feet (237 metres) tall, and for almost thirty years was the second-highest building in Europe (after the Moscow University building on which it was partly modelled).
Lev Rudnev made some concessions to Poland in his design, including sculptures of poet Adam Mickiewicz and astronomer Nikolaus Copernicus. However, the building was widely derided – even despised – in Poland. It was seen as a symbol of Soviet oppression of Poland, and many have called for its demolition.
When I first visited Warsaw in the 1990s, the Palace of Culture and Science stood alone and isolated, dominating its corner of the city. Nowadays its surroundings have completely changed. It is now one skyscraper among many. I understand how some people want it knocked down, but the sight of it being just one of many, rather than the only one in town, is a sign of how far Warsaw and Poland have come since throwing off the Soviet shackles in 1989.
Tours: This guided tour of the Palace of Culture takes you to rarely-visited parts of the building.
And this Behind The Iron Curtain Warsaw walking tour includes the Palace of Culture and several more locations besides.
See Also: 30 Famous Landmarks In Poland
Kulturpalast, Dresden, Germany
I’ve chosen this functionalist building in Dresden for this article because of its decoration rather than its architecture. It was completed in 1969, and was intended to have more of a Socialist Realist look, but its plans were modified substantially. Even so, it looks very different from the older rebuilt buildings across the street on the Altmarkt, venue of Dresden’s annual Striezelmarkt Christmas Market.
The most striking aspect of the building is the vast mural on its west wall. It’s classic Socialist Realist-influenced political art, a mural designed by Gerhard Bondzin. It’s called Die Weg der Roten Fahne (The Way of The Red Flag), and depicts hard-working socialists, slogans, several red flags and a crowd cheering Lenin.
The Kulturpalast now houses a concert hall and theatre, and is home to the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra.
Getting there: Trams 1,2 and 9 stop at Altmarkt, either outside the building or directly across the street.
Tours: You can drive around on a guided tour of Dresden in a vintage Trabant, the cult car produced only in Communist East Germany
See Also: Dresden Landmarks – 19 Great Buildings In The Florence on the Elbe
Astronomical Clock, Olomouc, Czech Republic
My quirkiest inclusion in this article is the astonishing Astronomical Clock on the wall of the Town Hall (radnice) in the Moravian city of Olomouc. There has been an astronomical clock at the location since the 16th, possibly even the 15th, century. But when the Clock was damaged near the end of World War Two, a radical decision was made.
Instead of rebuilding the clock, it was decided to build an entirely new one. In the Socialist Realist style. So it was out with the angels, apostles and saints you often find on these clocks. And it was in with factory workers, miners, car mechanics and other, to use the terminology of the time, proletarian figures.
And out went saints’ days and church festivals, to be replaced by the birthdays of Josef Stalin and Klement Gottwald, the first Communist leader of Czechoslovakia. The only thing I’ve seen remotely like it is the procession of miners in the Glockenspiel in Goslar, Germany.
The Olomouc Astronomical Clock does its full performance once daily, at 12 noon.
Augustusplatz, Leipzig, Germany
Leipzig’s Augustusplatz is the classic Communist city square, with so many different elements of Communist architecture, and also Communist history. It’s also the setting for three major Leipzig landmarks.
The large, open square is dominated by the Leipzig City Hochhaus, a rarity in the GDR, a skyscraper. Relatively few were built in the cash-strapped Communist country, but this was constructed, like the landmark Jen Tower in the Thuringian city of Jena, by Hermann Henselmann, between 1968 and 1972.
Henselmann designed the building to appear like an open book (ironic in a totalitarian state!) but locals nicknamed it the ‘wisdom tooth’ instead. You can take a lift to the viewing gallery on the 31st floor for a bird’s eye view of the city.
Just below the City-Hochhaus is the Leipzig Gewandhaus Concert Hall. This was built during the 1970s at the tail-end of the Brutalist period. Its heavy block top seems to be held up by a screen of glass and steel.
Across the square to the north, the Leipzig Opera House is one of the more attractive buildings of the GDR era, It was completed in 1960, replacing the previous Oper Leipzig which was destroyed during World War II. Take a walk around the sides of the building to see some of its less obvious features, including bas-reliefs with Communist motifs including the hammer and compass of the East German flag. The park at the back of the Opera House has a small statue commemorating the birth of Richard Wagner in the city in 1813.
Augustusplatz is also the setting for two very different events in East Germany history. In 1968 the 700-year-old Paulinerkirche, which served as the Leipzig University church, was blown up by GDR authorities to create room for new university buildings. A new church stands on the same site today.
And just three minutes’ walk from the square, the Nikolaikirche Leipzig was where the demonstrations that brought down the Communist regime began, growing from Monday evening prayer meetings in the early 1980s.
Tours: This Leipzig walking tour covers the historic centre of Leipzig and the Ausgustusplatz where the city’s Communist-era buildings are located.
See Also: One Day In Leipzig – 24 hours in the city of Bach
Grand Hotel International, Prague
The last vestige of Socialist Realism in Prague
The hotel’s website tells you that it’s an ‘American Art Deco’ building, but it’s the one remaining building in Prague from the Socialist Realist era in Prague.
It’s relatively hidden away in Prague 6 district, close to the Dukla Prague football stadium. It’s heavily influenced by the Seven Sisters buildings in Moscow, was designed by František Jeřábek, and completed in 1956, near the end of the Socialist Realist era. Some of the exterior murals and interior decorations, based on Czechoslovakia, have been well preserved, and even if you’re just passing by, are worth a look.
Until the fall of Communism in 1989, it was known as Hotel Čedok, named after the country’s national tourist agency. After the Velvet Revolution, it became part of the Holiday Inn chain.
Soon afterwards, the Hotel was the setting for one of the best Czech films of the 1990s, Big Beat, directed by Jan Hřebejk.
Getting there: Trams 8 or 18 to Zelená (from which it’s a 100-metre walk downhill to the Hotel) or Nádraží Podbaba (the line terminus, from which it’s a 150-metre uphill walk). You can connect to these trams, both of which will have Nádraží Podbaba as their final destination, from the Vitězné náměstí tram stop just outside Dejvická Metro station (line A).
See Also: Prague Architecture – 15 Must-See Buildings and 22 Famous Landmarks of Prague
Valour Sculpture, Brest Fortress, Belarus
The zenith of Socialist Realist sculpture
The Brest Fortress was the scene of two battles in World War Two. In the first, Polish forces held out before succumbing to the Nazis, who then left the town of Brest (Brześć in Polish) to the Red Army. As part of Operation Barbarossa – the invasion of the USSR – the Nazis then attacked the fortress in June 1941, and the Soviets held out for around a week – considerably longer than the Nazi leadership had expected.
After the War, several national boundaries were redrawn, including Poland’s. The country lost territory to the east to the Soviet Union (parts of modern Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine) and gained formerly German-held land to the west. Brest became part of the Belarussian Soviet Socialist Republic, later the state of Belarus.
The Soviets built much of their national identity around their (along with the Allies in Western Europe) victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War, which they call the Great Patriotic War. There was undoubtedly strong resistance at the Brest Fortress, and up to 2,000 Soviet soldiers are believed to have been killed there. But facts – such as how long the Soviets staved off the Nazi assault – were adapted (call it what you will, altered, made up) to suit the propaganda narrative of the Soviet authorities. Just like George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth in 1984.
The actions of the defenders of Brest Fortress fitted in with the story of heroic resistance that the Soviets wanted to get across. So the Fortress was turned into a memorial complex in the late 1960s, finally opening in 1971.
The focal point of the Brest Fortress site is the colossal ‘Courage’ sculpture. It’s a 30-metre-high Socialist Realist carving of a soldier’s head looking over a ruined section of the Fortress. He is carrying a hammer and sickle banner, and his face has a rather severe expression. It’s imposing, almost intimidating and quite unlike any other work of art I have ever seen.
As the Brest Fortress is in Belarus, it’s inaccessible at the time of writing. Visiting the country will have to wait until there are major changes in the country. In the terse words of the Australian Government website’s Belarus page, ”Do not travel.” Sadly it just isn’t safe, and the same applies to Russia.
Mamutica Tower Blocks, Zagreb, Croatia
Growing up on the Western side of the Iron Curtain, one of the most popular images of Communist Eastern Europe was the endless streets of high-rise apartment blocks, often with a very unhealthy dose of industrial pollution.
The pollution has been reduced, but the apartment blocks are everywhere across Central and Eastern Europe, from East Berlin to Belgrade, Budapest to Bucharest, and everywhere in between. Many – but not all – have been renovated since the fall of Communism. They have different names in each country – so in the Czech Republic and Slovakia they are known as panelaky, and in Germany they are called plattenbau.
One of the largest apartment blocks in Communist Europe is the Mamutica (‘Mammoth’) block in Zagreb, Croatia, which was built in 1974. I have travelled around much of Eastern Europe, but seeing Mamutica for the first time gave me quite a jolt of surprise. The building is 240 metres long, 60 metres high and has over 1,100 apartments of various sizes. One good reason for living there is that it’s one of only two buildings in Zagreb built to withstand the strongest possible earthquake there.
Getting there: Buses 109, 166, 219, 220 or 221 to Islandska.
See Also: One Day In Zagreb – 24 Hours In Croatia’s Fascinating Capital
People’s Palace (Romanian Parliament), Bucharest
One thing you learn about the Communists when you study them as much as I have is that one-upmanship was a big part of their psyche. They just loved to have the biggest, widest or highest whatever type of structure it was, much as they enjoyed winning Olympic gold medals by any means possible (which included a little help from illegal steroids along the way).
And so it was with Romania’s brutal dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. I have no idea whether or not he set out to break records, but he certainly did that. Among other things, the House of the Republic (Casa Republicii) is the heaviest building in the world, weighing over 4 million tonnes. It’s believed to be sinking around 5 mm each year.
As I’ve described, Communist architects drew their inspiration from some unusual and unexpected sources. Ceaușescu drew his from a fellow gigantophile, Kim Il-Sung, the first leader of Communist North Korea. The House of the Republic was inspired by the vast Kumsusan Palace in Pyongyang. It’s well over 200 metres wide and long.
I first saw this building in 1991, on my first European Inter Rail trip. Bucharest was the biggest culture shock of the whole trip, mainly because of the terrible street poverty I saw, especially abandoned children. Then I saw this vulgar, half-finished flattened wedding cake of a monstrosity, one of the most repugnant buildings I have ever set eyes on.
From many conversations I’ve had with Romanian friends, the building’s legacy has been wrested from Ceaușescu. When I visited it was known as the House of the People (Casa Popurului), and it now serves as Romania’s Parliament building.
For tours of the Romanian Parliament building, click here.
UFO Bridge, Bratislava, Slovakia
The Slovak capital Bratislava is a great place to see Communist architecture in Europe, with its ‘70s space age bridge over the Danube and one of the largest Communist housing estates in Europe in the tower blocks of Petržalka, just south of the bridge.
Originally simply called the New Bridge (Nový Most), the bridge was renamed the Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising (Most Slovenského národného povstania, usually abbreviated to Most SNP) in 2012. It spans 303 metres across the Danube.
Its most obvious feature is its tower, with a flying saucer-shaped structure on the top. It houses a restaurant ( a common feature in such buildings!) and viewing gallery. If you decide to eat in the restaurant your €11.90 ticket (available here) is deducted from your bill. The restaurant is popular, so book ahead.
Prague Metro Line A
The Prague Metro has been carrying passengers around the Czech capital since 1974, when what is now line C opened. Between then and the 1989 Velvet Revolution, the (green) Line A and (yellow) line C also opened. Of these, part of Line A, which opened in 1978, is of particular interest in terms of Communist architecture in Europe.
We lived in Prague for over four years, and loved travelling along line A between Hradčanská and Jiřiho z Poděbrad, where the station platforms are decorated fantastically with what look like dimples from the evil Doctor Who villains the Daleks. I’ve included an image of one of these vicious creatures for comparison.
I love this retro-futurist décor, which you can see at seven stations in all – the others are Malostranská, Staroměstská (the Old Town station), Můstek, Muzeum and Náměstí Míru. Of these, my personal favourites are at Malostranská, Náměstí Míru and Jiřiho z Poděbrad.
Žižkov TV Tower, Prague
For the ultimate Prague retro-futurist experience, take the Metro to Jiřiho z Poděbrad, and take the escalator to the square of the same name outside. There you’ll be greeted by Communist Prague’s more obvious monument to the space age, the Žižkov TV Tower.
To borrow a quote from the BBC’s Blackadder, opinion is divided on the subject. It has been voted the second ugliest building in the world. I know of at least two that are worse, so it’s not quite that bad. There is something of the air of low-budget science fiction about it. It could be a rocket readied for launch. Or perhaps a laser blaster stood upright. I’ve always thought that it looks more like an upright syringe, and for years, every time I looked at it I half-expected it to spurt liquid out of the top and drench the surrounding district.
The Tower was built in the last few years of Communism in Czechoslovakia, begun in 1985. When I visited in 1991, the finishing touches were still being added to it. It’s 216 metres (709 feet) high, and the viewing gallery is considered by some to be one of the best viewpoints in Prague. It’s around two miles from the Old Town, so the views aren’t as good as some of the other towers in Prague closer to the historic centre. Still, it’s well worth a visit and you can buy your Žižkov Tower tickets here.
Even from a distance you can make out figures seemingly crawling up the tower. These are David Černý’s Barcode Babies, which you can also see up close across the river in Kampa Park.
Anyone with an interest in the history of Jewish Prague should take a walk around the base of the Tower, where you’ll find the Old Žižkov Jewish Cemetery, which is open daily except Saturdays, 10 am to 4 pm.
Getting there: Metro Line A to Jiřiho z Poděbrad, then a 5-minute walk.
See Also: Communist Prague – 18 Fascinating Places To Visit and Things To Do In Žižkov Prague
Communist Architecture In Europe – Final Thoughts
I hope you have enjoyed this guide to Communist buildings in Europe. Some of them are not exactly easy on the eye, but seeing some of these places, and learning about their history, is a great way to discover more about this dark period in European history. I recommend checking out my companion article on Fascist Architecture in Europe, which looks at buildings from the Mussolini, Hitler, Franco and Salazar dictatorships.
For more articles on Communism and 20th-century history in Europe, take a look at some of the following articles:
Life Under Communism – What Was It Like? – 10 life stories from the Eastern Bloc
Cold War Museum Prague – an unnerving trip down into a nuclear bunker below picturesque Prague
Stasi Museum Dresden – a shocking insight into the dreaded East German secret police
Stasi Museum Leipzig – exhaustive collection in the former offices of the secret police in the city where the Socialist Revolution ground to its final halt
Retro Museum Prague – the best museum on everyday life under communism that I’ve visited in Europe
Visiting Auschwitz – Birkenau – Helpful Tips And What To Expect
Prague World War 2 Sites – discover Prague’s Second World War locations
Heydrich Assassination Site Prague – the location of one of the most audacious assassinations of World War Two
Visiting Terezin Concentration Camp – complete guide to the infamous Theresienstadt Ghetto near Prague
Communist Prague – 18 fascinating places to explore
Stasi Museum Dresden – a shocking insight into the dreaded East German secret police
Nuremberg Nazi Sites – 7 places to visit including the Nazi Party Rally Grounds
Berlin World War 2 Sites – 15 locations in the fulcrum of 20th-century European history
And for something completely different:
11 Best Art Nouveau Cities In Europe
David Angel is a British photographer, writer, and historian with over 30 years of experience as a European travel expert. He holds a degree in History from Manchester University, and his work is regularly featured in global media, including the BBC, The Guardian, The Times, and Condé Nast Traveler. David is fluent in French and Welsh, and can also converse in Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech, and Polish.