Every City Has Its Story
The 11th Open House Prague festival takes place May 12–18, 2025. The festival starts on May 12 with a series of accompanying events. On the weekend of May 17–18, 125 usually inaccessible buildings and spaces open their doors to the public across Prague for free. Some buildings also offer tours in English.
The full list of all open buildings can now be found on our website. As every year, we are working on a printed version of this year’s Festival Guide, available for purchase in May in our online store or from May 12 at the festival’s information center at the Hybernská Campus. We also recommend our mobile app Open House Praha for updates from the buildings during the festival weekend.
Opening the City for Everyone
As in the past, we offer special tours for visitors with visual or hearing disabilities, children, and foreign Prague residents. This year, we are also introducing factsheets in Ukranian. The Open House Prague festival is a community-driven event that would not be possible without the hundreds of volunteers who dedicate their time and energy to the festival without any compensation. Aynone who is interested in helping us with tours and coordination can join us; applications are accepted until the last minute. Join us and help us open the city for everoyne! The volunteer program’s ambassador is Lejla Abbasová, former spokeswoman of the minister of human rights and ethnic minorities, presenter, and volunteer.
Past Heritage, Future Challenges
Visitors have free access to both public and private buildings, including historical palaces, representative villas, industrial landmarks, and contemporary buildings. The theme of this year’s festival is Past Heritage, Future Challenges. This thematic focus builds on the festival’s participation in the international project Open House Europe, which brings together partners from 16 European countries.
“As we step into the next decade, we bring fresh ideas, a diverse program, and collaborations with inspiring personalities, while staying true to our vision: to open the city to everyone, offering people the chance to explore the places they live in, to discover both the old and mysterious as well as the new and modern influences shaping our daily lives. This year’s theme invites us to reflect not only on past architecture and its legacy but, most importantly, on what we will leave behind for future generations. Will it be timeless buildings? A city capable of facing new challenges? Or something unusable, unable to adapt?”
Schools for Future Generations
The festival’s accompanying program explores several key topics through thought-provoking lectures and discussions. This year’s guest curator, architect Osamu Okamura, has prepared a discussion series titled Schools for Future Generations. These discussions present winning designs of new Prague schools from recent architecture competitions, showcase inspiring examples of transforming outdated school buildings into energy-efficient and eco-friendly spaces, and examine the impact of the learning environment on both students and teachers.
“Although heritage is often seen as timeless, every generation must rediscover its connection to the aspects that resonate with them. Heritage, as a deep source of inspiration, challenges us to think about what and why we leave behind for the next generations. The festival’s discussions, led by invited experts, will explore the architecture of our school buildings – where we pass on knowledge, culture, and the ability to learn. What values do we consider important, and what do these buildings say about us? Are these qualities and priorities reflected in their architecture?”
This thematic focus is also reflected in the weekend program. On May 17 and 18, visitors can explore the smart, sustainable, and energy-positive revitalization of the Secondary Vocational School – Vocational Training Center & Grammar School on Českobrodská Street in Hrdlořezy. Originally built in the 1970s, this extensively renovated complex is now the most modern public building in Central and Eastern Europe. The school generates its own electricity, operates its own water treatment facility, and features automated lighting, temperature, and ventilation controls. The building also incorporates climbing greenery and a green roof garden.
Another must-visit site is the new “green” Pavilion of Tropical AgriSciences at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Suchdol. This modern building uses plants to improve the microclimate and reduce energy consumption and has won the prestigious Adapterra Award for exemplary sustainable architecture in the face of climate change.
Can urban life be combined with the freedom and mobility of a rural childhood? A potential answer lies in outdoor kindergartens. Once established solely through private initiatives, they now include publicly funded programs. Visitors can explore the outdoor classroom of Milíčův dům Nursery School in Kapslovna Park, Žižkov. Opened in September 2024, the facility consists of three small wooden buildings with a bedroom, dining area, and compostable toilets.
Forgotten Train Stations, Railway Anniversaries & New Projects
This year’s festival visuals feature an iconic Prague landmark that no longer exists. Illustrator Jan Šrámek has depicted one of Central Europe’s most beautiful railway stations – Praha-Těšnov Station (also known as Denis Station). 2025 marks 150 years since its opening and 40 years since its demolition to make way for a major highway.
“Our goal was to revive the memory of Těšnov Station, which is slowly fading. For younger generations, the story of this landmark can serve as inspiration and perhaps even spark an interest in the city’s history and future development. Prague still has many abandoned train stations, some of which are now finding new uses – like Stanice 6 in Bubeneč, or undergoing transformations, such as Masaryk Station and Praha-Bubny Station. Others, like Vyšehrad Station, may yet be saved after years of decay.”
The fate of the train station and other railway structures in Prague are reflected in the accompanying program through an exhibition of historical photographs in a former railway depot, lectures on the history of the railway and future projects, guided walks between stations, and a cycling tour around the planned pedestrian and cycling promenade along the former Vršovice railway line.
During the festival weekend, visitors also have the opportunity to explore the former motive power depot at Masaryk Railway Station, which witnessed the arrival of the first passenger train to Prague in August 1845 – exactly 180 years ago. This unique industrial complex was designed by architect Anton Jüngling under the supervision of Viennese architect Paul Sprenger, while the track layout was created by Jan Perner (born 210 years ago, tragically died 180 years ago due to a train accident). Visitors can experience the authentic atmosphere of this historical depot before its transformation into the Museum of Railway and Electrical Engineering, National Technical Museum, set to open in 2030.
News in the Open House Program
This year’s Open House Prague festival features more than 30 new additions across 13 city districts. Among them are senior homes, embassy residences, dormitories, new residential and office projects, industrial buildings, chateaus, schools, gardens, historical palaces, cultural and sacred spaces.
RETIREMENT HOMES
For the first time, the festival opens retirement homes designed by two Czech architects, Jan Línek and Vlado Milunić (co-author of the Dancing House). Their designs, inspired by their visit to Sweden, brought a pioneering and sensitive approach to senior housing in Prague. The Chodov Retirement Home exemplifies a respectful and cozy living environment integrated with the surrounding world. Visitors can also explore Nová slunečnice Retirement Home, known for its striking yellow elements and a façade decorated by Czech pop-art pioneer Josef Mžyk. Additionally, the Palata Home, which aids visually impaired individuals, offers an interactive program where visitors can experience vision impairments through simulation glasses. A historical exhibition of photographs and plans of the neo-Renaissance building, originally built on the grounds of the former Horní Palata vineyard estate in Smíchov, is also available.
EMBASSIES
This year, visitors have a rare opportunity to enter the residences of two embassies. In Smíchov, the Hodža Villa, home to the Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is open to the public. Built in the 1920s for Milan Hodža, a pre-WWII Czechoslovak prime minister, the villa features a commemorative plaque at its entrance. The Embassy of Lithuania, also located in a Smíchov villa, blends the elegance of the era of the First Czechoslovak Republic with modern Lithuanian design. Its interiors, designed by Indrė Dorofėjūtė, won the Good Design 2020 award in Lithuania.
DORMITORIES
How do students live in Prague? The festival offers a unique chance to explore several historical dormitories: Budeč, Jednota, Krystal Center, Švehla, Hlávka, and Masaryk Dormitory. The Budeč Dormitory, built in Vinohrady, was designed by functionalist architect Bohumír Kozák, evolving from modernism to classicizing expressionism. The Švehla Dormitory in Žižkov, celebrating its 100th anniversary, was designed by Otto Wagner’s student Jan Chládek in the style of rondocubism. Visitors can explore its preserved interiors, including a grand theater hall used by the Venuše ve Švehlovce ensemble. The Krystal Center in Veleslavín, originally intended for students of the Communist party’s political school, now serves as a hotel, dormitory, and Charles University facility, boasting preserved post-war architecture, Pragotron clocks, and the original navigation system.
PRAGUE CASTLE
This year, the festival grants rare access to the Hartig Garden, usually closed to the public. Originally part of the Hartig Palace, the garden was redesigned by architects Adolf Benš and Richard Podzemný. It features ivy-covered walls, a baroque music pavilion, and five sculptures by Antonín Braun, nephew of the renowned Matyáš Bernard Braun; however, these sculptures are currently stored in a depository, awaiting restoration. Also hidden here is the Plečnik Pavilion, a former winter garden now used for exhibitions.
REVITALIZED INDUSTRIAL SPACES
Several formerly industrial sites have been revitalized into new residential areas. The Lihovar Smíchov project references the area’s distillery heritage with brick façades, sawtooth roofs, and chimneys, inspired by London’s King’s Cross. Another transformed space is the Nusle Brewery, which has evolved from an abandoned ruin into a new residential district, featuring loft apartments in refurbished historical buildings and new residential housing.
NEW OFFICE BUILDINGS
The festival also highlights innovative office buildings. Roztyly Plaza, completed in 2024, has won multiple prestigious awards, including the Building of the Year title, for its architectural purity, structural design, and thoughtful urban integration. The Hagibor project, with surroundings designed by landscape architect Michel Desvigne, seamlessly blends office spaces with nature and has earned a LEED Platinum certification for environmental sustainability.
PALACES
Prague’s palaces remain a festival highlight, with some opening for the first time. The baroque Mladotovský Palace (also known as the Faust House) is steeped in legend, once owned by Rudolf II’s favorite alchemist Edward Kelley, rumored to have conducted diabolical experiments there. Another addition is the EGAP Palace in Vodičkova Street, featuring a functioning paternoster elevator and a rooftop terrace with unique city views. The recently restored Dunaj Palace on Národní Avenue, one of the finest works of German architect Adolf Foehr, now showcases its original grandeur alongside modern technology. Visitors can explore its newly accessible atrium with a glass ceiling and a green rooftop terrace.
Tours in English
Do you need help deciding which buildings to visit during Open House Prague 2025 on the weekend of May 17–18, or are you just looking for inspiration? Read our carefully curated list of buildings that represent Prague’s architectural diversity as well as this year’s must-see places. Most of these buildings offer English tours (as marked by the EN icon), which take place continually throughout the day. You can also find buildings with English tours using the filtering option in the program.
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