Festival Open House Prague begins with a accompanying program

Prague - The accompanying program for the sixth year of the Open House Praha festival begins today. The main part will take place over the weekend when interested parties will be able to visit over 70 buildings in the capital city, with nearly half being presented for the first time. Historical and industrial monuments, modern office and residential buildings, architecturally interesting palaces, villas, cemeteries, theaters, and university buildings will open extraordinarily and for free. The organizers invite visitors to tour the outskirts of the metropolis, such as Nusle, Strašnice, or Old Ďáblice.

On Saturday or Sunday, people will be able to visit, for example, the former Palace of Culture, now the Congress Center, Karlín Barracks, Masaryk Station, the area of the Nusle Brewery, the Orionka tram depot in Vinohrady, the Vysočany Pragovka, the observatory in Ďáblice, the crematorium in Strašnice, or the water tower in Letná. The Holešovice Exhibition Ground will offer a tour of the technical background of the Small Sports Hall, swimming pool, or Spirala Theater. Information about all the open spaces and accompanying program events can be found on the website of the Open House Praha festival.

The accompanying program will offer several musical and dance performances, discussions, film screenings, and guided walks during the week. The festival center will open today at the Radost House in Žižkov. The festival will kick off with a concert by the group Vážný zájem in the cubist garden of Kovařovic's villa. Dancer Jitka Čechová will perform at the Prague Crossroads. The program includes an evening guided tour of St. Anne's Church, which was reconstructed with the involvement of architect and festival patron Eva Jiřičná.

On Wednesday, a discussion on how empty houses come to life will be held at the Radost House. For Thursday, the organizers have prepared a walk with architect Petr Kučera through the Prague Market, which was established 125 years ago as the Central Abattoir of the royal city of Prague.

The festival program also includes tours for the deaf and visually impaired or programs for children.

The festival was originally scheduled for May but was moved to early September due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Because of the current measures due to the coronavirus, the organizers recommend mutual consideration among visitors, maintaining distance, and increased hygiene, and advise bringing a mask. "Operations in the buildings will be organized in groups of up to 30 participants, so wearing a mask is not currently mandatory, although in some buildings the owners require it," they stated on the website.