Dancing house in Prague – photo, description, history, map
The capital of the Czech Republic is striking in its beauty: gothic houses painted in pleasant bright colors, cobbled streets, squares with faces of saints, Charles Bridge and, of course, the unusual and at the same time so cozy Dancing House. The natives of Prague call one cylindrical tower Ginger and the other Fred. The house got its nickname thanks to a pair of dancers: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
History of the Dancing House
Surely everyone who heard the name of the building imagined complex mechanisms that allow the massive building to rotate on its axis to the music. However, in this version, everything is much simpler: the house does not make any movements, and only your imagination can make it move. Nevertheless, the Dancing House is worth seeing. It got its name because of its appearance. The style in which the house is built is called deconstructivism and involves the use of various, at first glance, impossible forms for architectural structures.
The dancing house consists of two towers, tightly adjacent to each other. Turning on the imagination, one can imagine that one of the towers is a girl, while the other is a man, and both of them merged in a passionate dance of love.
The house was built not so long ago, which is why it differs significantly from the buildings surrounding it, however, such a contrast only adds charm to both the houses of the 19th century and the building of the 21st.. In it, as in others, lived an ordinary family, whose existence was not noted in history. However, at one time, American aircraft bombarded Prague, and one of the hundreds of explosive devices fell on the erected house. In a ruined state, the house stood until the second half of the twentieth century, reminding all the inhabitants of both Prague and the Czech Republic as a whole, of the destructive power of war.
Vaclav Havel, who came to the presidential service at the end of the 20th century, settled not far from the destroyed house, and every day he was forced to see the burnt and destroyed walls. Outraged by this state of affairs, he nurtured for a long time, and later voiced an interesting idea: to build a new one on the site of the old building, using new architectural styles. This would help not only to hide the traces of the ruins, but also to create another highlight in Prague, which would be an excellent addition to the main architecture.
Construction of the Dancing House in Prague
Deciding to create something unusual, Vaclav Havel turned to two world-famous architects: Vlado Milunich from Croatia and Frank Gerry from Canada. So, from a simple construction, the dancing house turned into an international project, led by Vaclav Havel personally. Despite the complex architectural structures, construction proceeded quite quickly. The house was built in just two years: in 1994 construction began, and in 1996 it was already over. Until now, the house has been operating according to the same scheme as it was conceived: an office center is located inside the building, and an expensive restaurant is located on the upper floors, through the windows of which a gorgeous view of Prague opens. The interiors are designed by Eva Yorzhichnaya, who is a popular designer in the UK.
The house is striking in its imaginary fragility: standing next to it, there is a feeling that the slightest breath of a breeze – and the house will sway, groan and groan, and as a result, it will simply fall, burying a beautiful square under it. However, all this is nothing more than an optical illusion. The building was built using advanced technologies. For its construction, for the first time in Prague, complex 3D modeling programs were used, which made it possible to carefully plan everything. The calculations were carried out more than once, and only after multiple checks, the construction was launched. The effect of a falling house frozen in a dance was invented by Vlado Milunich, and he explained his decision with love for the incredible forms of construction, the effect of “unfinished” construction.
How the locals reacted to the Dancing House
However, despite all the admiration among the architects and the president, the locals were in real horror and shock. They often staged strikes and rallies, asked for an audience with the president – in every possible and impossible way they tried to ensure that the house was demolished. Many members of the elite agreed with them: they called the house drunk, and said that with its drunken appearance it only offends nearby classical houses and all of Prague as a whole. However, the president was pleased with his brainchild and was not going to give it up. So, gradually, the inhabitants came to terms with its existence and even fell in love. Today, about 70% are positive about the Dancing House, another 15% are neutral, and only 15% are negative. However, no active steps are being taken to eliminate it.
Prague: hop-on hop-off bus, ticket for 24 or 48 hours
Prague: 45-minute sightseeing cruise to Chertovka canal
Prague tourist card for 2, 3 or 4 days
Prague: 50-minute river cruise
Prague: New Year's Eve dinner cruise and fireworks
Prague: folklore dinner with music and dancing
Hot air balloon flight over Prague
Second name – Ginger and Fred
In December 2013, the owner and name of the house changed. At the auction, a major collector of architectural structures, as well as a famous real estate investor, Vaclav Skale, laid out eighteen million dollars for the lot. He does not consider such a price too high and considers the purchase very successful. Still – to have one of the sights of Prague – isn't it happiness? So far, the house retains its old structure, although the new owner has renamed it Ginger and Fred.
Despite the fact that Prague is a rather archaic city, and urban buildings have passed it by, today the Dancing House not only does not stand out from the general style, but emphasizes it and its individuality at the same time. The newfangled building in the style of deconstructivism has won the hearts of millions of tourists, and it will not leave you indifferent either. Let the recognition of the cultural value of the building by local residents come after twenty years, it's still better than never. When visiting Prague, you seem to plunge into a fairy tale, where small streets, squares and rivers are intertwined into a single magical story telling about the history of the old city.
