Now you can. On the weekend of the 18th and the 19th of May, the annual Open House Prague festival, which will be held this year for the fifth time, will offer visitors free access to eighty buildings and spaces. Those who are interested in architecture can thus experience the architecture of different historical eras and periods. “Getting to know buildings, their architecture and stories, that is the first step in creating people’s interest in the city and its public spaces,” Andrea Šenkyříková, the festival director, said.
195 buildings, 185 000 visitors
Ms. Šenkyříková is the creator of this unique project. “The idea of visiting interiors of buildings that are not usually accessible to the public came to me mainly because I was always getting to know and discovering Prague, and wanted to do so,” Andrea Šenkyříková said, adding that since she learnt about Open House London in 2013, she started thinking about transferring the concept to Prague.
And in May 2015, the inaugural Open House Prague festival opened the doors of thirty-three buildings to the public. Over the following years, the number of accessible structures has reached 195. These buildings and spaces, including historic palaces, representative villas and modern office space, have been visited by 185,000 people.
Eco-friendly buildings
This year, the festival will bring visitors to interesting buildings once again. This time the organisers have prepared two thematic sections. The first section is called “Eco-friendly Buildings” and features buildings that represent various ways to use resources economically in the construction industry with minimal environmental impact. “To represent this section, I would like to mention the modern Visionary building in particular, which was the first building in the Czech Republic to receive the WELL GOLD certification for healthy working environment, at the beginning of April,” Andrea Šenkyříková invites you to visit this unique building. You can also visit the Interfaculty Centre for Environmental Sciences II building, the attractive office building Křižík II Palace and the multifunctional complex Quadrio.
Buildings owned by Prague
The second thematic section will introduce “Buildings owned by the City of Prague”. Its gates will open, buildings such as the largest stadium in the world - the Great Strahov Stadium, which the city acquired in 2014 after many disputes. A study is now taking place for its future design.
For the first time ever, the corner Renaissance Pages’ House of the Lords of Martinice in Hradčany will be open to the general public. This cultural landmark dates back to the reign of Rudolph II, who housed his page boys there. The house also remembers countless other diverse residents. If you want to find out about its history, don't miss the tour! This is the same for the other buildings.
A list of the buildings that can be visited on: http://openhousepraha.cz/en/programme-of-the-festival-2019/
INFORMATION ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
18/05/2019 – 19/05/2019
Various venues
Free admission
◾Most buildings are open both days from 10am to 6pm
◾Organisers recommend checking the information in the description