Dancing House

Tančící dům

A deconstructivist building designed by Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunić in 1996. Two towers dance together, nicknamed 'Fred and Ginger'. The rooftop terrace offers free views of the Vltava River and the castle.

The Dancing House stands on Rašín Embankment beside the Vltava River in Prague's New Town. The original building on this site was mistakenly bombed by American forces in 1945, and the empty lot lay derelict for decades. In 1992, with the support of President Václav Havel, whose apartment was right next door, Croatian-born Czech architect Vlado Milunić and American architect Frank Gehry collaborated on the design, completed in 1996. The two towers, one glass and one concrete, twist around each other like a pair of dancers. The nickname 'Fred and Ginger' comes from the Hollywood musical duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The glass tower resembles a female dancer in a skirt, while the concrete tower wears a metal crown like Medusa's hair. The building sparked fierce debate in the conservative historic district, but it has since become a signature of Prague's modern architecture. In 2005 it appeared on a Czech National Bank commemorative gold coin. The building mainly houses offices and a hotel, but visitors can explore the gallery on the ground floor, the Ginger & Fred restaurant and Glass Bar on the 7th and 8th floors, and the rooftop terrace. A drink lets you go up to the terrace; without a purchase, a small admission of about 100 CZK applies. From the terrace you can see the Vltava, Charles Bridge and the castle across the river, especially lovely at sunset. Nearby, you can walk 10 minutes north along the embankment to the National Theatre and Slavonic Island, or south to Vyšehrad. Across the river is Petřín Hill. On Saturdays the embankment hosts a farmers' market (Náplavka), and in summer the riverside boat bars are where young Praguers go out at night. Getting there: Karlovo náměstí station on metro line B is a 5-minute walk, or take tram 17 to Jiráskovo náměstí. The best angle for photographing the exterior is from across the river or from the bridge.

Dancing House

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