Liberec Routes

• 1945: in the centre the line begins its route at the town hall; the terminal in the lower centre is still being prepared.
• 1947: the line was extended to Machnín.
• 1953: a new terminal in Fügnerova street is opened, so the termini of all lines move to the lower centre. The lines to Stráž and Ostašov, however, unlike the others, start at Gottwaldovo náměstí (today Soukenné), because they continue to the railway station along tř. generalissima Stalina. The new route is therefore Gottwaldovo náměstí - nádraží - Stráž nad Nisou (at the site of today's Stráž nad Nisou elektrárna stop) (- Machnín).
• 1955: the line again terminates in Stráž nad Nisou.
• 1956: the marking of bus lines reverts to numbers — already in today's form.

In this local-geography article I will try, using old maps and records, to travel back to 1955 and ride along this line. It is possible that history experts will clarify some of the details; I will be glad of that.

We set off from the square that has been called Gottwaldovo for only a few years. Before the communists came to power and after their end, this square is of course known as Soukenné. The stand for lines A and B is on the northern side of the square. It is thus separated from the tram stop, which is on the southern side. Of the Ještěd department store there is not yet a trace; in its place is grey city development, but also the now non-existent streets U Splavu and Švédská. The route continues along Generalissimo Stalin Avenue, today 1. máje. It has been so from the start, so the buses go along the little street past the future Lípa cinema, unlike the trams, which run on today's alignment. Before the bridge over the Nisa, however, the two alignments meet and continue together to the station. We see no panel blocks; instead there are larger residential houses with various services on the ground floor. Of the tunnel, the Uran and the bus station there is not a trace. But the Imperial hotel, for example, already stands in place. What also has not changed much is the station area. The station building is practically unchanged, except for banners proclaiming peace; the Skloexport building also already exists, housing the Regional National Committee and other offices. The old customs house burned down twenty years ago, so in its place there is now an open lot, and the surrounding buildings stand too. On the lot there is a tobacconist's, a statue commemorating 1945 and, beside it, a beer hall. Another change is the track triangle and the terminus of tram no. 1 in front of the station arrival hall. We continue further along Nákladní Avenue, today renamed Žitavská in this section. On the left we see the station throat much as today, on the right we see larger and smaller apartment houses, mostly grey and depressing. Below the hill we turn left under the well-known viaduct. There is only one for now; Švermova street splits off only beyond it. In the place of today's complex double junction and through route we probably would not even recognise it. There is a factory there and the meandering Františkovský brook. We cross it by a smaller bridge and continue along Žitavská street. Owing to the absence of the through route, the left side looks completely different. The whole strip between the street and the railway is filled with dense development of family houses. Many of them will not live to see the end of the century. Up the hill, though, the houses lining the street already quite resemble today's state. A change comes only at the Letka. The older hotel building is already there, but in front of it is also the terminus of tram line no. 2, of which today there is not a trace. It has a mere 5 years left until the end of its operation. Another place we would probably not recognise lies a little further on. Beyond Růžodol I, Londýnská street curves dramatically to the left, crosses today's petrol station, the Snowman, and then returns by a sharp arc to the right onto its today's alignment. The underpass beneath the railways already existed, but only a footpath to a few allotments led through it. Of shops and industry there was not a trace, let alone of roundabout junctions. Further on, the road to Stráž does not differ much, only the embankment with the motorway on the left is missing. There are mere handfuls of family houses, and industry by the Nisa river is sparse too. A change comes beyond the Růžodol Mlýn stop, where there is not yet a bus turning loop. Londýnská street does not cross the Nisa river but continues along its left bank on the alignment of today's road I/35. This is also due to the changed course of the Nisa, which meanders almost alongside the railway. We separate from road I/35 only in Stráž nad Nisou. A reminder of it is today's Za Elektrárnou street. Only here do we cross the course of the Nisa to the right side. And it was right here that the terminus of the line to Stráž later was. Services to Bergerovo náměstí began only later. We, however, continue further along the Kateřinská road to Svárov and Machnín. That is interesting from today's point of view, because today no public transport line runs this way any more. The road soon returns to the alignment of today's I/35 and then into Stará street. Svárov was already then a strange district full of scattered houses and a bit of industry. Several houses had to give way to the main road to Chrastava. To this day, the turn-off from the old street, which was the old road to Chrastava, is only barely noticeable. Shortly after it we arrive in Machnín. Then a separate municipality with a village character, which has not changed much to this day.