thumb|300px|[[Prague-Hostivař, the Košík housing estate]]
Panelák is a colloquial term in Czech and Slovak for a Large panel system-building constructed from pre-fabricated, pre-stressed concrete, such as those extant in the former Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic & Slovakia) and elsewhere in the world. Paneláks are usually grouped together, creating a housing estate (, ).
thumb|Panel houses in the Prague housing estate [[Řepy.]]
(plural: ) is derived from the standard or meaning, literally, "panel house / prefabricated-sections house". The term panelák is used mainly for the elongated blocks with more sections with separate entrances – simple panel tower blocks are called (tower house) or colloquially . The buildings remain a towering, highly visible reminder of the Communist era. The term panelák refers specifically to buildings in the former Czechoslovakia; however, similar buildings were a common feature of urban planning in communist countries and even in the West.
History
thumb|[[Petržalka in Bratislava, Slovakia]]
Interwar Czechoslovakia saw many constructivist architects in the country, such as Vladimír Karfík and František Lydie Gahura, many of whom would maintain prominence following the establishment of the Czechoslovak People's Republic in 1948. In the years following 1948, the Czechoslovak architectural scene favored Stalinist architecture over more modern architecture.
In Prague and other large cities, most paneláks were built in a type of housing estate known as a or . Such housing developments now dominate large parts of Prague, Bratislava, and other cities and towns. The first such housing development built in Prague was Petřiny in the 1950s; the largest in Prague is Jižní Město (about 100,000 inhabitants), with 200 buildings and 30,000 flats built since the 1970s. It has the longest corridor, water distribution, and heating of a prefabricated house in the country. An even longer prefabricated house is located in Ruprechtice, Liberecké. It is a curved prefabricated house nicknamed (Hockey Stick) because of its shape. It has 24 entrances, 11 floors, and 693 apartments.
However, the longest panel house (continuous panel house complex) in the Czech Republic is located in Ostrava on Horní Street (it also extends into Cholevova and Mitušova Streets), it has a total of 28 entrances (of which 26 are in one line), 6–13 floors, 841 apartments and a total length of (of which are in one line).
Characteristics
thumb|Towering paneláks in the Kamýk area of [[Prague.]]
A typical panelák apartment has a foyer, bathroom, kitchen, a living room (also used for dining), and a bedroom. Fears that paneláks would become undesirable and be subject to middle class flight, commonplace following the Velvet Revolution, have not materialized.