The roofs of the Lucerna Palace will open to the public for a week

Prague - From this afternoon until August 23, the newly renovated roofs of the Prague Lucerna Palace will be open to the public. The café owner Ondřej Kobza, who has rented the rooftop area, has covered it with wooden planks. Entry for visitors is voluntary. In the future, a community center may be established there.

Kobza has rented the rooftop area with an extraordinary view of Prague from the sister-in-law of the first Czech president, Dagmar Havlová. "The purpose of the event is to kickstart a 'roof culture' in Prague and thus initiate another layer of life in the city," the café owner stated on his Facebook profile. He gradually plans to open a café connected with a community garden on the "deck," as he refers to the complex of roofs. The area of the Lucerna rooftop complex is approximately one thousand square meters.

The Lucerna was built between Vodičkova and Štěpánská streets by Václav Havel, the grandfather of later president Václav Havel. Soon after its establishment, it became a center of cultural and social life in Prague. After 1948, it was nationalized, and in 1992 the palace was returned to brothers Václav and Ivan Havel through restitution. This was followed by disputes and complications, after which the courts ruled that the entire building belongs to Ivan Havel's wife, Dagmar Havlová, who intends to renovate and revitalize the palace.