Dukla Cinema

   
For the new ReformCinema, a space was assigned in the place of the former fortification wall on Jana Masaryka Street (formerly Na Valech Street) near the preserved medieval fortification. At the beginning of the 20th century, a large area was allotted by the Building Authority for the construction of the German House (Německý dům), which was to be funded by an association of the same name, founded back in 1871. However, the project ultimately failed to come to fruition. In June 1914, the Association for the Support of a Nursing Home for Children and Youth (Verein Wohlfahrtsanstalt "Kinderschutz und Jungendfürsorge"), with the consent of the German House Association, applied for a permit to build a cinema-theatre on the town's land, according to plans by the Viennese architect Clemens M. Kattner. The construction was entrusted to Ignaz Lang, a builder from Jihlava. The cinema opened on 1 May 1915 with the war drama Brotherhood in Arms or Military Honour. From its opening, the cinema auditorium was used for screenings and public lectures. Sound films began showing there in 1930. After 1945, the name of the cinema was changed to Stalingrad,and since 1962, it has been called Dukla.

In the pre-war period, Kattner made a name for himself with his designs of evangelical churches in Austria and Moravia. For Jihlava, he designed a building whose concept was on the borderline between the fading historicism and the more modern post-Art Nouveau "homeland style". It is characterised by high half-hipped roofs, which culminate in a massive bell-ended roof. Kattner oriented the main entrance and the two side entrances to the lobby northwards to the street and placed three more side exits from the hall on the rear, south side. From the west side, an entrance to the gallery with boxes was provided. The façade is divided by a fine lesene frame. The auditorium could hold almost five hundred people. Under the stage, there was a dedicated space for the orchestra, which provided the sound for silent films. A lectern was also included. The rear auditorium held slightly elevated boxes, with a projection room above on the first floor, accessible by a separate side staircase. In addition to the toilets, the box office, and the cinema manager's office, there was also a small cafeteria and a cloakroom in the entrance lobby. The basement housed a boiler room for central heating, and the whole cinema was electrified. The facility was used for film screenings, as well as for lectures and public debates. For example, before the Second World War, the architect Bohuslav Fuchs presented his new regulatory plan for Jihlava to the public there. In 1949, the floor was modified to provide a better view from the auditorium, which also reduced the capacity by approximately 100 seats. In 1976, the lobby was expanded at the sides with new toilets and a cloakroom. The 2008 renovation carried out according to the project from 2004 by the Jihlava architectural studio Alfa divided the screening room into two smaller ones, named after former cinemas in Jihlava, and created a loft conversion accessible from the lobby by a steel spiral staircase. The building has served its original cinematic purpose for more than a century and has remained in the city’s ownership throughout.

The Reform cinema was not the first in Jihlava – from 1912, the Elite cinema was built according to the architect Arthur Corazza’s plans on what is now Štefánikovo Square, on the approximate site of today's Masaryk Primary School's after-school club. The cinema operated there until 1923, when it was turned into a house of prayer for the Czechoslovak Hussite Church (Husův sbor). At the end of the 1920s, the building gave way to the new Masaryk Jubilee Schools building (Masarykovy jublilejní školy). The Bio Edisonon Havlíčkova Street was another cinema in the then still separate village of Dřevěné Mlýny, near the Art Nouveau bridge over the river. It was designed in 1914 by the Jihlava builder Vincenz Zeizinger. The cinema ceased operations in 1946, and in 1961, the rear section, housing the screening room, was demolished, followed by the front section in 1975. From 1929, screenings took place in the Legionary House (Legiodům) on Fritzova Street in the Adriacinema (later Praha, Oko, Vysočina), and from 1935, also in the new Sokol House on Tolstého Street in the Stadioncinema (later Viktoria, Svět, Panorama, Sokol). From 1950, a smaller cinema, Mír,was located in the inn at Sokolovská Street 128 in Bedřichov (Hotel Gastahus zum Nordpol–U Severní točny). Occasional screenings were also held in the House of Culture and Trade Unions (Dům kultury a odborů) and in the amphitheatre in the HeulosForest Park. Since 2009, screening rooms have also been located on the top floor of the City Parkshopping centre at Hradební 1.

JL
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