The architecture festival will this year offer a program in 120 cities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Prague - Hundreds of events, excursions into usually inaccessible buildings, architectural walks, lectures, as well as theatrical performances or concerts will be offered by the program of the 14th annual nationwide festival Day of Architecture. From September 27 to October 3, it will take place in more than 120 cities across the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This year's edition will focus on the 100th anniversary of the death of Franz Kafka, while other events will be dedicated to the work of architects Josef Fanta, František Maxmilián Kaňka, and Karel Hubáček. Silvie Marková informed CTK on behalf of the organizers.

This year's festival motto is "The Process of Transformation," which refers to the work of the writer Franz Kafka; the festival will highlight buildings associated with him, but will also invite attendees to places with a Kafkaesque atmosphere or related to literature. The program will include walks tracing Kafka not only in Prague but also in Mariánské Lázně and Špindlerův Mlýn, where Kafka began writing the book The Castle. Attendees will experience Kafkaesque atmosphere, for example, in a mechanical filing system from 1936 in the functionalist building of the Czech Social Security Administration in Prague or in the bureaucratic complex of the Directorate of Land Construction in Pardubice.

"Our goal is to offer visitors of all ages carefully selected events where they can discover often overlooked places or perceive architecture in a broader context, always with expert commentary. We also aim to highlight the importance of public space and landscape architecture related to climate change," said the director of the Day of Architecture, Marcela Steinbachová.

Another programming line will be the architecture of Karel Hubáček, whose birth was 100 years ago this year. In addition to the television transmitter and hotel on Ještěd, the festival will also commemorate his other works, such as the Máj cinema in Doksy, the Small Theatre, and a family prefabricated house in Liberec or a cultural center in Teplice. The Day of Architecture will also remember Josef Fanta, whose death was 70 years ago; in addition to the historical building of the Prague main train station, the program includes a tour of the Ondřejov Observatory or a guided walk through his villas in Poděbrady. The festival will also commemorate the Baroque builder František Maxmilián Kaňka, the author of the Jemniště, Karlova Koruna, Loučeň castles, and the Church of Saint John of Nepomuk in Kutná Hora.

The program is free; however, prior registration is required for some events. The accompanying program is charged in some cases. Simultaneously with the Day of Architecture, the Film and Architecture festival will also take place in 20 cities, both events are organized by the Kruh association.

Last year, the festival offered over 500 events in more than a hundred cities across the republic and Slovakia, attracting around 35,000 visitors.