The Presidential Residence, the Lobkowicz Palace, the New Orangery at Prague Castle designed by Eva Jiřičná, Goethe-Institut by the river, Karel Čapek’s Villa in Vinohrady, the Clam-Gallas Palace in the Old Town, the former Electrical Enterprises building in Prague – now Bubenská 1 at Vltavská, and the newly renovated Fanta Building at Prague’s main train station were among the biggest attractions of the 10th anniversary edition of the Open House Prague festival, which took place May 13–19, 2024. The festival saw more than 103,600 visits to the buildings and accompanying programs, an increase of 20,000 from last year.
The event culminated over the past weekend with 115 buildings open in thirteen districts. Many of these buildings are usually not accessible to the public, making the architecture and open city festival a unique opportunity to see inside. This includes buildings like the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Regional Development, Transport, and Culture, as well as Na Libušince Villa or the National Archives in Chodov.
There was also significant interest in these buildings, as well as the Hrzán and Liechtenstein Palace, and other interesting but lesser known places such as the historical boathouse of the Czech Yacht Club and the floating boathouse of TJ Tatran Praha in Podolí, the Sokol Gymnasium in Vinohrady, and the functionalist Pod Slovany Garage. The industrial spaces of the KOH-I-NOOR factory complex in Vršovice were also popular. The Neo-Renaissance Hlávka Dormitory of the Czech Technical University in Prague, with beautiful sgraffitos designed by Josef Fanta, was open as well. A unique feature of the program was the opening of the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre in Zderaz by Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel, modeled after the chapel inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
“I really enjoyed this year’s festival of architecture and volunteerism. During Saturday and Sunday, I personally visited several buildings, and I was delighted to see ministers or mayors welcoming visitors in the open buildings, and that the tours were often led by the architects or owners of the buildings themselves. They presented the buildings in cultural, historical, and architectural contexts, which helps connect with the local community,” said Andrea Šenkyříková, the founder and creative director of the festival, evaluating the recently concluded festival.
The festival’s patron is architect Eva Jiřičná, who also attended the opening reception.
A City Open to All
The main theme of this year’s Open House Prague festival was the idea of a city open and accessible to everyone, a concept that permeated the entire program. In addition to special tours for children, there were also other inclusive events held at some buildings. Barrier-free thematic events were organized as part of the Open House Europe project with the support of the European Union.
“We were delighted to see significant interest in special tours for people with hearing or visual disabilities, which truly make architecture accessible to everyone. I was also pleased with the great success of the Open Senses city game,” commented Klára Veselá, the festival’s director, on the recently concluded event.
The interactive city game Open Senses was prepared by students of Arts Management from the University of Economics in Prague, and it also embraced the idea of a maximally accessible city. Players at five locations in the city center experienced what it is like to navigate Prague when one has limited vision or uses a wheelchair. By completing tasks, they could solve a puzzle and receive a reward at the end. “We were surprised that all generations participated in the game, from parents with children to elders, and we are thrilled with the positive feedback,” said Radka Řehulková, a third-year Arts Management student at the University of Economics in Prague and one of the project coordinators.
Lectures at the Trade Fair Palace and Štvanice Island
The accompanying program during the week included nearly thirty events, featuring a workshop focused on the physical accessibility of buildings and a big debate with experts titled “Openly About Prague: A City Accessible to All”, translated into Czech sign language, with Estav.cz as the media partner.
The festival also traditionally commemorated several significant architects whose birth anniversaries fell this year. Among them were Josef Fuchs (130th anniversary) and Oldřich Tyl (140th anniversary), co-authors of the Trade Fair Palace. On the very first day of the festival, a lecture by instructor Matěj Sladký took place at the Trade Fair Palace, focusing on the building’s transformations over the years, including the devastating fire fifty years ago. Architect Zdeněk Lukeš also spoke about Fuchs and Tyl’s work to a full audience in the authentic setting of the former restaurant of the Štvanice Winter Stadium, now the Fuchs2 club.
Great interest was shown in Wednesday’s lecture commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Prague metro, given by Jan Ungrman, head of the Technical Coordination Department of the Prague Public Transit Company. This event took place directly in the hall of the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic. Transportation urbanist Tomáš Cach led interested participants on a bike tour titled “Look Around You” from Stromovka through Bubny to Štvanice Island, focusing on the transformations of this part of Prague and safe urban cycling.
The Friday vernissage of an exhibition in the Garden of Arts in Nusle, celebrating its 100th anniversary, and an exhibition by artists from the Hurá collective in the representative floor of the former Koulka vineyard estate in Smíchov also attracted visitors. The Koulka homestead was open to visitors throughout the weekend.
Over 600 Volunteers
The festival, which opens usually inaccessible buildings to the public, is organized by a dedicated team throughout the year. However, it could not take place without the involvement of hundreds of volunteers who, during the festival weekend, guided tours, took photographs, or assisted visitors at the festival center in Hybernská Campus. There, visitors could purchase the Festival Guide and other merchandise, and children could enjoy the construction play area by CzechRepubrick.
“Volunteers are absolutely amazing. I was very pleased to see people of different ages and professions dedicating their radiating energy to the festival in their free time. In the buildings I visited, I encountered smiling volunteers who demonstrated incredible dedication. Without the 650 volunteers this year, it would not have been possible to open so many locations,” praised the volunteers Klára Veselá, the director of the Open House Prague festival.
The volunteer program ambassador was Lejla Abbasová, a presenter, model, former spokesperson for the Minister for Human Rights and National Minorities, and volunteer.
Now With an App
Festival visitors had a wide range of options, including historical palaces, landmarks, new buildings, technical, and sacred structures. All these could be visited for free, without prior registration. The event allowed people to see how the capital is changing, such as the recently completed complex of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University in Jinonice, the new residential district New Waltrovka, or PORT7 on the banks of the Vltava River near the Holešovice embankment.
This year’s novelty was the Open House Prague app, which provided not only all practical information regarding opening hours and tours but also continuously updated data on waiting times at buildings, tour lengths, and a chat feature. The week-long architecture festival included lectures, guided walks, special tours, exhibitions, and artistic performances starting from Monday, May 13, as part of the accompanying program.
Open House Prague is not just about the May festival. The nonprofit organization offers tours of interesting buildings and walks around Prague throughout the entire year.
The next Open House Prague festival takes place May 12–18, 2025. Follow our Facebook event for content from behind the scenes! You can also browse this year’s photo gallery.
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