The festival’s theme, “Past Heritage, Future Challenges”, aligns with the Open House Europe 2025 programme titled “Future Heritage”. “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?” says festival director Klára Veselá.

Open House Praha’s accompanying programme 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designs of new Prague schools from recent architecture competitions, showcase inspiring examples of transforming outdated school buildings into energy-efficient and eco-friendly spaces, and examine the impact of the learning environment on both students and teachers.

This thematic focus will also be reflected in the main weekend programme on 17–18 May. Among the highlights are the smart, sustainable, and energy-positive revitalisation of the Českobrodská High School and Gymnasium, the green Pavilion for Tropical Agriculture at the Czech University of Life Sciences, and a newly opened forest classroom of Milíčův Dům Kindergarten in Kapslovna Park, Žižkov.

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 – Prague-Těšnov Station (Denis Station). 2025 marks 150 years since its opening and 40 years since its demolition to make way for a major highway. In celebration of Prague’s railway heritage, this year’s festival will also offer a rich accompanying programme featuring guided walks, a cycling tour, an exhibition, and lectures on the history of the railway and future projects.

The 2025 edition of Open House Praha will feature more than 30 new additions across 13 city districts. Among them are senior homes, embassy residences, dormitories, new residential and office projects, industrial buildings, castles, schools, gardens, historic palaces, cultural and sacred spaces.

Committed to accessibility and inclusion, Open House Praha includes special tours for visually impaired visitors, the deaf, and children, with sign language interpretation, real-time transcription, tactile maps, and 3D building models. Guided tours in English and Ukrainian-language materials will be available for Prague’s international residents.

We invite all visitors of Open House Praha to participate in the Open Call for Visual Stories—an opportunity to creatively interpret the festival experience and this year’s Open House Europe theme, “Future Heritage”. Submissions can take any visual form, including photography, short film, drawing, or other artistic expressions.

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“Open House Prague allows the public to take a peek inside buildings associated with significant Czech architects, whose anniversaries we are commemorating this year – such as Josef Fuchs, Oldřich Tyl, Adolf Benš, Josef Fanta, Jan Gillar, Karel Hubáček, and others. At the same time, the festival addresses accessibility and openness of the city for all groups of citizens,” says festival director Klára Veselá.

The festival features a diverse range of buildings and structures that highlight the rich history of Czech architecture, with a special focus on the anniversaries of notable architects such as Josef Fuchs, Oldřich Tyl, Adolf Benš, Josef Fanta, Jan Gillar, and Karel Hubáček. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore unique spaces, including the former restaurant of the Štvanice Winter Stadium by Josef Fuchs, the rooftop terrace and technical facilities of the Trade Fair Palace, and the Pod Slovany Garage in Nové Město. Alongside these are new additions to the programme, such as the First Czech General Reinsurance Bank on Smetana Embankment and the splendid Neo-Renaissance Old Town Market Hall.

The organisers of the festival always strive to break barriers and open the city for everyone, and this year is no exception. As part of the Open House Europe 2024 programme, which focuses on accessible and inclusive built environments, accessibility is one of the main themes of Open House Prague this year. The festival offers special tours for visitors with hearing or visual disabilities, tours for children, a discussion on the accessibility of the city, a workshop focusing on physical access to buildings, or an interactive city game titled “Open Senses.” Organised in collaboration with students of the Department of Arts Management at Prague University of Economics and Business, the game aims for visitors to experience the challenges that people with disabilities face when moving around the city. 

We invite visitors of Open House Praha to participate in the Open Call for Visual Stories. It is an opportunity for everyone to interpret their experiences of the festival and the annual theme of Open House Europe—Accessibility and Inclusion—in any art form they wish—a series of photographs, a short film, a drawing, or any other medium for a visual narrative.

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