The Square of Elsnic in Libeň is situated along Zenklova Street, west of the bridge over the stream of Rokytka. In the past there used to be a coast of Rokytka, since 1895 called Svět’s embankment. Jan Svět (1797-1869) was the last village mayor in Libeň. Huge modifications appeared there after 1945. The stream of Rokytka was covered and a park modification was realized there. Thus a square arose, which was called the Square of Elsnic, in the memory of Karel Elsnic (1905-1941), a political officer of KSČ in Libeň, who was executed on 1st October 1941 during the German occupation.
A corner house of palace type, called Svět, partially turns into the square with its front. The house, known from the literary work by Bohumil Hrabal, was built in the thirties in the last century by builder František Havlena. The building was partly residential; furthermore, there were a library, café, restaurant and a cinema in the basement. Nowadays, the house is in very bad building condition.
In the corner of the square, below the Libeň Castle, there is standing a memorial to JUDr. Jan Podlipný (1848-1914), a Czech patriot, mayor of Czech Sokol community and the Lord Mayor of Prague. He held this post since 2nd January 1897 to 18th January 1900, when he sat in the municipal administration of the town for nearly thirty years. He played an important role in joining Libeň to Prague in 1901. Before, he was awarded with honorary citizenship by the town of Libeň in 1898. Authors of the memorial are academic sculptor Jaroslav Brůha and arch. J. Bloudek. Ceremonious unveiling the memorial, a bronze sculpture of JUDr. Jan Podlipný in slightly larger-than-life size, took place on Sunday, 22nd September 1935.
