Melantrich

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For Czech medieval writer, see Jiří Melantrich of Aventino.
Historical building of Melantrich publishing house on Wenceslas Square in Prague in summer 2007

Melantrich (

publishing house connected with the Czech National Social Party
. Established in 1897, the publisher remained in existence until 1999.

History

In 1897 the

daily newspaper, Česká demokracie ('The Czech Democracy'), led by Václav Klofáč
, without much success.

In 1907

Wenceslaus Square. The company adopted the name Melantrich after renaissance publisher Jiří Melantrich of Aventino (born Jiří Černý Rožďalovický c. 1511, Rožďalovice – November 19, 1580, Prague
). The building was given the same name after a 1922 reconstruction.

In 1919 the company, obtaining an official permit, started to publish several newspapers and journals (including the first

circulation
of some its newspapers and journals reached hundreds of thousands, and in a few cases (Večerní slovo, weekly Svobodný zítřek) more than one million.

Led by Šalda, Melantrich became the largest publisher in the

Nazi occupation
(1939) the company managed to stay in business, but Šalda was imprisoned in 1941 and it was taken over by Nazi collaborators. After the war Šalda, unwilling to participate in politics anymore, was removed by the party from his executive position. České slovo was renamed to Svobodné slovo ('The Free Word') in 1945.

After the

Czechoslovak Socialist Party
(the ČSNS had changed its name) was granted the right to control the company again while the state remained its formal owner (this settlement led to litigation after 1989). In 1950 the publishing house changed its name to Svobodné slovo-Melantrich, in 1960 to Svobodné slovo and again in 1967 back to Melantrich.

During the

Wenceslaus Square
. The socialist party later used this balcony as the main symbol of their (eventually unsuccessful) election campaign in 1990.

The first half of the 1990s was spent in disputes and litigation over who the new owner of the company would be. The newspaper Svobodné slovo changed its editor-in-chief many times while circulation steadily declined. In 1996 Melantrich was bought by a media company, part of the Chemapol group. Svobodné slovo was renamed to Slovo ('The Word') and in 1998 sold out. Chemapol went bankrupt in 1998. The publishing house was, like many other large traditional publishers in the Czech Republic, unable to compete and closed down in 1999.

Afterwards, the Melantrich building was turned into a luxury hotel.

References

  • Libuše Pešková: Publikační činnost nakladatelství Melantrich od založení do vzniku 2. světové války ('Publication activity of Melantrich Publishing House from its foundation to the beginning of World War II'), Charles University, 1975. A diploma work with complete bibliography from the 1918–1938 period. (in Czech)

External links

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