New passage honors forgotten Czech engineer

One distinctive feature of Prague is its passages that provide shortcuts through the middle of a street. While many cities have them, few can rival Prague in terms of pasáž culture.

Added last month, a new one makes it easier to get from Biskupský dvůr Street to Tešnov Street, near the Florenc metro stop and bus depot. The buildings the passage cuts through are home to the Czech Office for Standards, Metrology, and Testing (ÚNMZ) and the Czech Standardization Agency (ČAS).

For this reason, the new route is called List Passage (Listova pasáž), for Vladimír List, a professor who was an important Czech electrical engineer and founder of systems of Czech as well as international technical standards. Both state institutions rely on List’s legacy.

The currently used International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the successor organization of the International Standards Association (ISA), which List co-founded in 1928, securing a firm place for Czechia in the international field of standardization. A metal plaque with some basic information about List is at one of the entrances to the passage. List was born in Karlín on June 1, 1877, not far from where the passage is located.

When the passage opened to the public, ČAS general director Zdeněk Veselý highlighted the continuing importance of technical standards. "They are far from being limited to engineering or medical production, where we would expect them. Today, technical standards also deal with cyber security or personal protection," he said.

For a time, List worked as the chief designer in the factory of František Křižík and made significant contributions to the electrification of Czechoslovakia. He also created designs for a four-line Prague metro system in the 1920s. His basic ideas would serve as an inspiration for the metro when it was eventually built in the 1970s. The current metro A line in particular follows his original outline.

Later in his career, he taught at the Brno University of Technology and helped to establish new laboratories there, but he was forced into retirement in 1948 by the communist party. He died in 1971 in Brno, aged 93.

He published over 600 professional books, manuscripts, and articles as author or co-author, and co-founded a professional magazine for electrical engineers. He also earned several domestic and international awards for his work.

List's great-nephew Jaroslav List, who coincidentally graduated from the same university where his great-uncle lectured for many years, was also at the opening. "One of the examiners pointed out to me that if I was to bear this famous name, I should increase my diligence," he said.

Aside from the already mentioned state agencies, the buildings in the passage are also home to the Cooperative Association of the Czech Republic, a dental clinic, a low-price diner, a carpentry shop, a state-run housing agency, and a hostel.

Right now, the passage gets little in the way of foot traffic. In the long term, the city plans to renovate the now desolate Těšnov park across the street, which would give the passage more of a purpose.