This year, Open House Prague will let the public see buildings associated with important Czech architects whose life anniversaries we are commemorating this year – for example, Josef Fuchs, Oldřich Tyl, Adolf Benš, Josef Fanta, Jan Gillar or Karel Hubáček. In addition, he is preparing several interesting novelties.
One of them is, for example, a pompous one Palace of the First Czech Insurance Bank on the Smetana embankment in the style of floral art nouveau, which it inhabits today Goethe-Institut. Few would have guessed that the sauna, which is still functional today, is hidden in these magnificent premises, which was built here in the 1970s, when the Embassy of the German Democratic Republic was located in the building. The sauna will be open for viewing during the festival weekend, as well as the lavish and well-kept interiors. The foyer of the building will also belong to the exhibition Photo album of the Kafka familywhich will offer many previously unpublished photos from the life of the family Franz Kafkaand will remind you of this year’s 100 years since his death.
Another news item is Palace of Škoda Races, the current seat of the City Hall of the City of Prague, which was created according to the design of the prominent Czech architect Pavel Janák. As part of the festival, representative Škoda lounges with extraordinary art and craft interior decoration and restored period furniture will be on display.
The spectacular Neo-Renaissance building will also be exceptionally open to visitors Old Town Markets in Rytířská street. It was created according to the design of Jindřich Fialka, the architect of the water tower on Letná. Last time there were shops and a supermarket here.
It is part of this year’s program Municipal Insurance Palace on the Old Town Square, where today the Ministry for Regional Development of the Czech Republic is located. The author of the design of this art nouveau building, Osvald Polívka, invited the biggest names of the art scene of the time to collaborate, and thanks to this, we can still admire the sculptural works of Bohuslav Schnirch or Ladislav Šaloun here today.
Picturesque atrium and grounds Václav Havel Libraries made accessible by classicists The Deym’s Palace, in which Karel Schwarzenberg, whose family owns the palace, also had an apartment after 1989. Close to the busy Republic Square will also open Town housetoday the headquarters House of foreign cooperation, which is an important late classicist monument. This year, for the first time, the festival also managed to gain access to the cubist private space villas Na Libušinceone of a trio of unique residential buildings on the Rašín embankment, designed by the prominent Czech architect Emil Králíček, who is also the author of the iconic cubist lamp on Jungmann square.
For the first time, several buildings within the framework will join the festival program area of Prague Castle. It will be possible to visit, for example Presidential residence. It was originally designed by the architect Pavel Janák for Edvard Beneš, but he did not see it completed, so the house was only used by communist presidents. Since 1989, the house has hardly been inhabited and was mostly used as a background for press conferences or meetings.
Another extraordinary object in the Royal Garden will also be open to visitors – New orangery from Eva Jiřičná, patron of the festival. The construction of this high-tech building made of glass and steel was initiated by the wife of the president, Olga Havlová.
It will then be the last open building at Prague Castle Lobkowicz Palace, which elegantly mixes Renaissance and Baroque building elements. Today, the palace is the only privately owned part of Prague Castle that serves as a museum with the valuable collection of the Lobkowicz family.
They will be made available further National Archives and State regional archive in Prague and for the first time it will be possible to look into the monumental three-winged building Historical buildings National Archives located on Milady Horáková street in Dejvice. During the festival tour, it will be possible to look into the former apartment of the director of the archive, and a facsimile of the so-called Golden bulls of Sicilyissued on 26 September 1212 in Basel.
Even this year, the organizers are trying to open these cities to everyone. Therefore, special tours are prepared for visitors with visual impairments, the deaf and children.
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Follow in the footsteps of Franz Kafka and discover the places where he lived and created
This year we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of the writer Franz Kafka. On this occasion, the Open House Prague organization prepared several thematic events. You can look forward to one of them at the beginning of next week. As part of a guided walk around Prague, you will learn in which places Kafka lived and created. Further events will follow in May.
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The jubilee tenth year of the traditional architectural event Open House Prague will focus on significant anniversaries this year
Also this year, architecturally interesting places that are normally mostly inaccessible will be opened to the public again. This year, the festival will invite its visitors to 115 places throughout Prague for free. The jubilee tenth year of the open buildings festival Open House Prague will take place this year from May 13 to 19, 2024. While a rich accompanying program will be prepared in the week of May 13, on the weekend of May 18 and 19 the festival will make available various buildings and interesting spaces . This year, Open House Prague will allow the public to see buildings associated with important Czech architects whose life anniversaries we are commemorating this year – for example, Josef Fuchs, Oldřich Tyl, Adolf Benš, Josef Fanta, Jan Gillar, Karel Hubáček and others.
