This year for the first time, the 10th Open House Prague Festival will also include Prague Castle. Visitors will be able to see the former Presidential Residence, the so-called Little House, which is not normally open to the public, and the New Orangery designed by architect Eva Jiřičná in the Royal Garden. 

The Presidential Residence was originally designed by architect Pavel Janák for president Edvard Beneš, but it was not completed and so the house was used by Communist presidents. Since 1989, the house has hardly been inhabited and served mostly as a background for press conferences or meetings. In recent years, however, it has undergone extensive renovations, taking care to preserve Janák's original features.

The New Orangery designed by Eva Jiřičná is a high-tech glass and steel construction initiated by president Václav Havel's wife Olga. The operation of the greenhouse and the care of the thermophilic plants is ensured by a number of automatic systems, and the greenhouse also includes two small fountains - the first by Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik and the second by Otto Rothmayer.

www.openhousepraha.cz