Car crashes through a window of Prague's Dancing House

The Dancing House in Prague was damaged last night by a car that drove into its display window. No injuries were reported but windows and steel framework will need to be replaced. No estimates of the repair costs have been released yet.

The incident occurred at approximately 8 pm. Two cars, a BMW and an Opel, crashed on Jiráskovo náměstí. The BMW then jumped onto the sidewalk and went through the full-length windows of the cafe at the Dancing House. Nobody was on the sidewalk at the time.

Police officers went to the scene and are investigating the circumstances. Due to privacy rules, the name of the driver has not been released. He has only been identified as being from Bavaria in Germany.

According to the tabloid Blesk, the BMW reportedly had a vanity license plate with lettering that referred to sports and drinking, but the exact wording was not stated. Police are still investigating whether alcohol played a role in the accident.

The Dancing House is one of Prague’s most iconic structures. It was designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry and Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić. The building opened in 1996 and won an award in the design category in a poll by Time magazine.

The lot where the Dancing House was built had been empty since Feb. 14, 1945. American bombers made a navigational error and mistook Prague for Dresden. The neo-Baroque building that stood on the corner of Jiráskovo náměstí and Rašínovo nábřeží was destroyed in the raid. the lot remained empty until after the Velvet Revolution.

Václav Havel, who was a part-owner of the lot, was instrumental in the creation of the building, though he envisioned it as a cultural center with a library and theater, in addition to an art gallery and a cafe.