<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>Translation</title> </head> <body> <p>The Dancing House is one of the few bold modern buildings in Prague.</p> </body> </html>

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ČTK
19.06.2026 10:20

Prague – In recent decades, many new buildings have emerged in Prague, but bold modern architecture struggles to find its place here. An example is the fate of Jan Kaplický's design for the National Library. One of the few exceptions is the so-called Dancing House by architects Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry on Rašínovo nábřeží. In the 30 years that will pass on June 20 since the official start of the building's trial operation, this unconventional structure has become one of the symbols of the city and a tourist magnet. However, this project was not received unambiguously either. Its supporters appreciated the bold modern architecture that Prague lacks, while its opponents argued primarily that it does not fit into historic Prague and disrupts the cityscape.

In the places where the Dancing House was built between 1993 and 1996, there stood a house that was destroyed during the American air raid on February 14, 1945. The decision on the development of the vacant lot was made as early as 1963, but a fundamental step was only taken in 1992 when the plot was purchased by the Dutch insurance company Nationale Nederlanden. The project of Czech architect Vlado Milunić, of Croatian origin, was selected for realization, who invited renowned Canadian-American architect and designer Frank Gehry to collaborate.

The idea to develop the parcel was revived in the early 90s by Milunić together with President Václav Havel, who lived in the neighboring building. The original idea envisioned a building with a library, theater, and café, which would connect the cultural line from the Rudolfinum through the National Theatre to the Mánes. However, it was not possible to secure an investor for this non-commercial project. Nationale Nederlanden set as conditions the commercial use of the building and the involvement of one of the leading world architects.

Milunić initially considered the Frenchman Jean Nouvel (later the Golden Angel in Prague's Smíchov was built according to his design) but was successful only with Frank Gehry. As Milunić later noted, the hockey fan Gehry said at that time that he would do anything for the country that gave America Jaromír Jágr. Gehry is known, for example, for the construction of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, which was completed a year after the Dancing House. It is said that during the Prague project, Gehry explored the possibilities of 3D computer modeling, which he then successfully used in Bilbao and other projects.

The cornerstone of the Nationale Nederlanden Building, as the building was officially named, was laid on September 3, 1994. The building is based on a reinforced concrete slab supported by a system of drilled piles. Attached to the reinforced concrete structure are 99 original facade panels. The unofficial name was given to the building by its two towers resembling the figures of dancers. Thus, the building is sometimes referred to as Ginger and Fred, after Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. At the top of the tower symbolizing the figure of a man is a dome with a tube structure covered with stainless steel mesh – the head of a jellyfish.

The building has nine floors with a vertical division into two parts. Due to the shape of the building, each floor is different. This also leads to a certain impracticality – asymmetrical rooms are hard to furnish, and sloping walls "topple" over a person. In the building, part of the interior was designed by the famous architect Eva Jiřičná, and it currently houses a hotel, restaurant, bar, and gallery.

The Dancing House received the highest design award in 1997 in a prestigious survey by the American magazine Time. In a domestic survey by the magazine Architekt, it ranked among the five most significant Czech buildings of the 1990s. The Czech National Bank selected it as an example of a contemporary building for one of the ten coins issued as part of the series Ten Centuries of Architecture. Photographs of the house can now be found in guides and publications on architecture.

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robert

21.06.26 09:14

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