Cellars under Prague's Old Town Hall to open to the public for the first time

Underground spaces beneath Prague’s Old Town Hall, also home to the city's landmark Astronomical Clock, will soon feature new interactive exhibits exploring key moments in the city’s history.

The three planned exhibitions will focus on medieval Prague, the Prague Uprising of 1945, and the legend of the Golem. City officials aim to complete the project next year, with previously inaccessible Romanesque-Gothic cellars opening to the public for the first time.

The new exhibits are part of a broader effort by Prague City Tourism to enhance the visitor experience at Old Town Hall. The underground chambers, some of which have remained closed for decades, once served as prisons, storerooms, and even makeshift medical facilities during the final days of World War II.

One of the planned exhibitions will transport visitors to medieval Prague, offering insights into daily life in the city centuries ago.

Another will focus on the Prague Uprising during WWII, showcasing personal stories from the resistance movement, including accounts of German soldiers who joined Czech fighters. Old Town Hall's expansive neo-Gothic wing was destroyed during the Prague Uprising, and never rebuilt.

"One exhibit will be dedicated to medieval Prague, the second to the Prague Uprising," says František Cipro, chairman of the board of directors at Prague City Tourism.

"We have a lot of stories that we want to present there. Some are very powerful. There is a story about a doctor who saved a lot of Czechs, about municipal officials who ran around Prague with weapons in their hands."

A third exhibition will explore the legend of the Golem, the mythical clay figure said to have been created by Rabbi Loew to protect Prague’s Jewish community. This exhibit is being developed in cooperation with the Jewish Community of Prague and will provide a fresh perspective on one of the city’s most enduring folktales.

Before the underground spaces can open to visitors, structural modifications will be required to ensure safety and accessibility. The project is currently in the planning phase, with Prague City Hall overseeing construction efforts.

Once completed, the new exhibitions will add a deeper historical dimension to one of Prague’s most visited landmarks, offering an immersive experience beneath the historic streets of Old Town. Visitors can look forward to the new exhibits beneath the Prague landmark debuting in 2026.