Like a rocket, a photo from Prague, Bohemia

Photographer's Note

As Craig wrote about this tower, it was voted the second ugliest building in the world. Indeed, when we look at the skyline of Prague, it dominates it. On the other hand, it is an interesting structure and the view from the top is fabulous. I stayed in the hotel nearby and could see it from my window. It looked very attractive in the night so I went there with my TRIPOD to make some shots.
The colors - white red and blue are the colors of Czech flag.

Wikipedia:
The Žižkov Television Tower is a unique transmitter tower built in Prague between 1985 and 1992. It stands high above the city's traditional skyline from its position on top of a hill in the district of Žižkov.

Like many examples of communist-era architecture in Central and Eastern Europe, the TV tower used to be generally resented by the local inhabitants. It also received a spate of nicknames, mostly alluding to its rocket-like shape, e.g. "Baikonur" after Soviet cosmodrome, "Pershing" after the US IRBM, some more political, like "Jakešův prst" (Jakeš's finger, after the Secretary General of the Czechoslovak Communist Party), etc. Although official criticism during the time of its construction was impossible, unofficially the tower was lambasted for its 'megalomania', its 'jarring' effect on the Prague skyline, and for destroying part of a centuries-old Jewish cemetery situated near the tower's foundations.
Rumours have also circulated that the tower was planned to be used to jam incoming western radio and television transmissions (particularly Radio Free Europe) and that it had a potential use as a communications facility for Warsaw Pact forces in the event of an attack on (or attack by) NATO.

In 2000, sculptures by Czech artist David Černý of crawling babies were temporarily attached to the tower's pillars. The sculptures were admired by many and were returned in 2001 as a permanent installation.

macjake, krzychu30, worldcitizen, jjcordier, tyro, joso, kennyblack, ChrisJ has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

janneman (2228) 2013-02-16 4:07

A few days ago I was in Prague for the first time and I was astonished of an ugly building like this in the cities skyline!
But you turned it into a fine piece of photogrpahy, hlepled by the colours of the light illuminating the tower (what we did not see at all).

Regards, Jan

Sergiom (40207) 2013-02-16 5:47

Bonjour Malgorzata,

J'aime beaucoup la diagonale que forme cette structure dans l'image. J'aime les couleurs très vives en superposition à ce ciel brun nuageux.

Bon weekend

Serge

macjake (40028) 2013-02-16 7:31

Hi Malgo
Nice to see this building once again :)
I had no idea that it would look like this in the evening time, we were only there in the daylight. Obviously the colors represent the Czech flag, i like that, and we can still see the ugly babies crawling :)
good idea to post it on the angle too.

I am flying to eastern canada today, to newfoundland. there's been a death in the family so i have to go for a few days. take care
Craig

krzychu30 (9411) 2013-02-16 8:06

Witaj Malgorzato,
faktycznie,pamietam ta wieze ze zdjec Craiga.Jednak noca oswietlona,tak pieknymi i wyrazistymi kolorami zmienia calkowicie swe oblicze.Kolory wygladaja naprawde nieziemsko tworzac niezwykly-dla mnie troche surrealistyczny klimat,zwlaszcza w polaczeniu z syletkami dzieci wspinajacych sie na szczyt.
Nie wiem jak wyglada ta wieza na tle innych budowli w Pradze,dlatego nie moge zrozumiec dlaczego jest uwazana za najbrzydszy budynek swiata.Z tej perspektywy wyglada interesujaco-moze nie najladniejsza wieza jaka widzialem,ale i nie najbrzydsza.

Pozdrawiam serdecznie
Krzysiek

marabu61 (4182) 2013-02-16 8:43

Witaj Malgo
An ugly building indeed it is, but then those kind of television towers seldom are architectural masterpieces. But it is the colors of the lights and your dynamic framing in the diagonal that makes this captivating anyway.
have a good weekend
Daniel

worldcitizen (4936) 2013-02-16 9:56

Hello Malgo,
When I saw this thumbnail, it reminded me of the antenna on top of the Empire State Building. :-) I like your diagonal presentation and the vibrant colors. I know this building well from Craig's photos, and it is still surreal to these those tiny babies crawling up this strange tower. It is one of the weirdest pairings of art and architecture that I have seen so far!

maria-v1981 (10409) 2013-02-16 10:46

Hello Malgorzata,
This is a Tower not to my preferences. You have made a wonderful work you show to us an intresting corner shot and the strong colours creates a beautiful scenery.
Have a nice evening,
Greetings,
Maria

jjcordier (63092) 2013-02-16 22:29

Malgorzata
Les 1600 ISO bruitent un peu la photo mais j'aime le cadrage en diagonale et les couleurs de l'ensemble.
Amicalement
JJ

TopGeo (38000) 2013-02-17 0:15

Hello Malgo
An building those kind of television towers seldom are architectural masterpieces. It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer.Perfect idea
Bravo
Georgios

tyro (13595) 2013-02-17 16:28

Hi Malgo,

WOW! Malgo with a TRIPOD! That must be a first!

You have certainly caught the brilliant and vibrant colours here perfectly and the tower stands out fantastically against the cloudy sky. We can, of course, see the "light pollution" from the city on the clouds - something which astronomers hate - but the effect is wonderful!

Perhaps this isn't the most beautiful structure but it looks impressive at night!

Kind Regards,

John.

dkmurphys (37439) 2013-02-18 1:23

Hi Malgo,
You've managed to create a spectacular detail to illustrate your idea. Great catch!

Daniel

joso (2405) 2013-02-18 9:06

hi Malgorzata,
an excellent idea the diagonal composition, the colours work on the background of the noisy sky
well seen and done
regards
jános

kennyblack (4193) 2013-02-18 12:14

Hello Malgorzata
Beautiful photo that looks an abstract painting. Excellent 's idea of putting in diagonal where the vivid colors make everything stand out. Very nice and thanks for sharing it.
The best greetings, have a nice evening ... Marino

ChrisJ (87654) 2013-02-19 11:28

Hi Malgo

An interesting post & the diagonal axis adds dynamism. I like the red white & blue colours & the sharpness & pp work are superb. The grainy sky makes it looks old & imperfect just like the Soviet era it encapsulates. The comparitively little cartoon figures climbing up the tower add a whimsical touch. Tfs!

mjw364 (4040) 2013-02-23 7:44

Hello Malgo

Well you have turned the ugly tower into somethign quite beautiful and used the grain and saturation of colour to great artistic effect here. I like this a lot.

TFS

Mike

Noel_Byrne (8095) 2013-02-23 7:58

Hi Malgorzata
You have a very intriguing capture of this most unusual building, the light and composition making it very appealing to me. I see you say that many dislike this structure, but I quite like it, or certainly how you have presented it here anyway. I suppose in a grey day with no lights it looks a lot less appealing that this.
The babies are such a weird addition too, giving a very surreal touch to an already unusual building.
Thanks for sharing, this one if facinating.
All the best
Noel