In March 1964, it was decided that the historic Bridge must give way to coal mining

Prague - In the post-war years, over 80 municipalities disappeared due to the extraction of brown coal in Northern Bohemia, the most significant example being the old town of Most, which was decided on March 26, 1964, that it must give way to millions of tons of coal. From the old Most, which had a tradition of more than seven hundred and fifty years, only the relocated Gothic dean's church and the remnants of the Hněvín castle were preserved. The demolition of the city was definitively completed on April 1, 1987.

The first historical mentions of the settlement on the site where the city of Most now stands come from the Latin "Cosmas's Chronicle of the Czech" from the 10th century, when a path ran through the marshy landscape on wooden bridges. This is also where the name of the city comes from. In the 18th century, enormous reserves of coal were discovered around Most, and in the 19th century, a railway was brought to the city, and a sugar factory, porcelain factory, steelworks, brewery, and city museum were built.

After World War II, most of the original German-speaking inhabitants were expelled from the city (Most was annexed to the German Reich as part of the Sudetenland from 1938 to 1945), and at the beginning of the communist era in 1948, about 45,000 people lived there. The city had a compact center with many Gothic buildings.

In 1965, the demolitions of the old Most began, and the approximately fifty-five thousand strong city, which could confidently compete with any heritage reserve in the country in terms of the significance of its historical monuments today, was gradually demolished over the next more than two decades with explosives. The oldest parts of the city were destroyed within the first ten years. In 1981, for example, the demolition of a theater building from 1911 took place, in 1972 the local brewery (founded in 1470) was demolished, by the end of the 60s the Most cemetery from 1853 was also lost, and between 1974 and 1975, the demolition of the 1st May Steelworks, which opened in February 1914, took place. Only the Gothic dean's church of the Assumption of Mary (built between 1517-1550) was saved from the monuments, which was moved 841 meters on rails in 1975. The church was then reconsecrated in 1993.

At the same time, a new city, including its center, began to be built. The first project implemented here was the former Communist Party building, followed by a department store that started selling in 1976. In 1984, a twenty-five-story and 96-meter-high skyscraper was opened, which still serves as a prominent landmark of the now almost sixty-five thousand strong city. It originally served as the headquarters of the North Bohemian brown coal mines (SHD), construction began in the 70s, and until the end of the century, it was the tallest building in the Czech Republic, excluding church towers.

The old town of Most and its surroundings designated for demolition (the villages of Velebudice, Sýřice, Dolní Jiřetín, Čepirohy, and Rudolice) became a cheap and authentic backdrop for war films from 1965 to 1985. However, documentary films and films of the so-called Czech New Wave (The Joke, A Case for a Beginner Executioner) were also shot here. The Soviets most often filmed in Most, but Americans (Most at Remagen), Poles, and Germans also shot here.

According to estimates, from an economic point of view, the demolition of the old Most was profitable, as it yielded almost three billion crowns in profit. A total of 89,275,007 tons of brown coal were extracted, which is about 89 percent of the reserves that were located in this area. Mining in the pillar of Most was completed at the turn of 1990 and 1991.