The rooftop of Prague’s Lucerna passage represents 1,000 m2 of unique space above the historical Lucerna Palace.
The complete building bears the distinctive elements of the fading Art Nouveau movement and the Modernism that was emerging when it was completed in 1921 by the grandfather of President Václav Havel.
In 2014, Prague-based cafe owner and impresario Ondřej Kobza, who was looking for a suitable roof where a community garden could be built along the lines of the Brooklyn Grange Farm phenomenon, received permission from the Havel family to open the Lucerna rooftop.
Architect Petr Hájek joined the project, significantly contributing to the successful implementation of the roof renovation. The roof was finally opened to the public for a few days, for the first time in 95 years. In 2016 it opened for 3 days, in 2017 for 7 days and in 2018 for 15 days.
Now open for the 2019 season, the pivotal event on the Lucerna rooftop will be an original exhibition devoted to the history of the Havel family and the entire Lucerna cultural phenomenon.
The exposition (“How Lucerna Raises the City Character of Prague”) is now open to the general public and will run until the end of October.