Dancing House
The Dancing House, famous for its unique architecture, sits on the right bank of the Vltava River on the corner of the Rašín Embankment and Jirásek Square. It acquired its name based on the two towers that resemble the famed dancing duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. For this reason, it is often called Fred and Ginger. The Dancing House is open to public and is a venue for cultural events, such as exhibitions. It houses a gallery, café and restaurant.
Useful information for visitors
Public transport connections
Opening hours and admission
The Dancing House Gallery is open daily from 9 am to 8 pm. For up-to-date information about exhibitions and admission fees, visit www.galerietancicidum.cz.
DANCING HOUSE RESTAURANT & BAR
On the top floor of the Dancing House is a restaurant and bar with a view of the panorama of Hradčany. The restaurant serves French and international dishes.
Interesting facts about Dancing House
Between 1994 and 1996, The Dancing House was built in the place of a former tenement destroyed during bombing in 1945. Vlado Milunić, Czech architect of Croatian origin, and former Czech President Václav Havel, who lived in a neighbouring house, came up with the idea of erecting a new house in the gap site.
The building was to lean above the crossroad, which was to symbolise the state of Czechoslovakian society in the early 1990s that “started to move out of totalitarian rigidity”. It was built by Vlado Milunić and American-Canadian architect Frank Gehry and financed by the Nationale Nederlanden Real Estate company.
The Dancing House is built on reinforced concrete slab complemented with a set of bored piles. The construction itself is reinforced concrete with 99 original façade panels attached to it. The façade is composed of two towers resembling a dancing duo. There are 9 floors: 7 above ground floor and 2 underground floor levels. The rooms are asymmetrical. Most of the floor area is used for offices. There is a café and gallery on the ground floor and a restaurant on the top floor.
