Zelezarstvi – Ironmongers
Outside the city there is a ring of commercial areas where you’ll find a variety of superstores and there’s always a huge DIY centre like Bauhaus or Hornbach for buying homeware or bits and pieces for fixing things. But what about the centre of town? In town you’d go to an old fashioned Ironmongers, what in the USA would be called a Hardware Store, although we call it a Zelezarstvi.
Although historically it would have been a name for a place for buying metal goods (in Czech it literally translates as a place where they work with metal) or a place where you could order work where you would get a sign made or an iron gate etc, nowadays it’s not just metal goods. The last time I visited one it was to buy corks and before that it was for glue. I’ve been here with tour clients to get locks, insulation tape, packing tape and even a glue gun. Why else might you want to visit this kind of shop? well for tourists here are a few popular reasons:
A lot of modern luggage is basically held together with plastic “press in” clips especially day packs and rucksacks. These will often break or split under pressure. The Zelezarstvi will have all manner of plastic clips, fastenings, buckles and adaptors for replacing broken parts.
Wheel fallen off a bag or a pram? A Zelezarstvi will have nuts, bolts and washers in a variety of sizes plus the tools to fit them.
Bag zip broken? Maybe you can’t replace the whole zip but at the Zelezarstvi you can by things that will hold it together even if it means buying a length of rope or plastic tape.
It’s a place you’ll go to for wire, tape, general tools etc. Basically you should be able to get what you need to either replace a broken part or fashion some kind of temporary solution until you can get a proper fix.
Downtown Zelezarstvi
I use a few depending on where I am in the city. The first is U Rotta at Linhartska 6 in the Old Town which has a website at https://www.zelezarstvi-urotta.cz/. It’s in Czech but can be translated using the Google Chrome add-on. In the Old Town is also another one called Vacke at Dlouha 25. In Karlin (8th District – Sokolovska 97) I’ve used a place called “U Praguny” mostly for homeware and small tools (pictured above).
Another Variant
Opposite the Florenc tram stop there’s a shop with a blue/yellow sign that says “Potreby pro kutily”. This basically translates as “DIY Supplies” and should sell everything that you’ll find in a Zelezarstvi.
Something Related or a Few Minutes Away
Services – Tabak (newsagent/tobacco)
Services – Bloomest Self-service Laundry
My Own Guided Tours – Cheaper Than You Think!
