Venues
Czech Railway - The Display Wagon at Na Knížecí
Aleš Procházka
The authentic setting of this 35-year old motorized wagon, which is increasingly disappearing from our tracks, replaced by modern carts, is certainly an attractive place for listening to literature. The placement of the wagon at the last still-functioning station in Prague, where trains regularly arrive, is a wonderful example of the symbiosis of mass transportation and art. The setting around the station is unique in that it is changing almost before our eyes, just like the entire neighborhood in the formerly industrial heart of Smichov.
Foglar tower VRV
Vladimír Javorský
Smichov’s water tower is known first and foremost as the home of the club, Folgarovy Dvojky (Folgar’s Number Two). It is therefore that this building can also evoke the settings of the adventurous stories from Folgar’s books. This renaissance building, erected in the years 1581-1584, served, according to a report from 1686, 56 Prague fountains. The tower is the lowest and the most picturesque of Prague’s water towers and stands on the smallest island in Prague. It was to that very spot that Franz Kafka went to swim.
Lycée Français de Prague
Matěj a Kryštof Hádkovi
In its very essence the French Lyceum in Prague fulfills the mission of Czech Centre - because it works to promote French as well as Czech culture. Its building has a rich history. In the 19th century it housed a convent and an asylum for the Congregation of the Merciful Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo. During the communist years, its chapel was remodeled into a basketball court and was seriously damaged in the process. The building served as a police commissariat during this period. Listen to a passage from the work of Boualem Sansal that perfectly complements the atmosphere of the French Lyceum, which is located in the former chapel.
Futurum Music Bar
Igor Bareš
This reconstructed and legendary club forms part of the historic building of the National House in Smichov. The new artistic theme of the club is dominated by rounded forms that you encounter on massive columns in the hall and also on their own - however, the primary curio of the old-new music venue is the generous thirty-meter bar, which winds like a snake throughout the entire hall. The original light-up floor also demands attention, constructed from brushed glass with inlaid wires in the form of the letters F. In the year 1969, the club hosted the first Beat Salon, notable for the debut of the new band, the Plastic People of the Universe. At present its program is oriented towards classic and new rock bands, primarily from the Czech Republic, but also from the world club scene.
HUB - Co-Working
Bára Hrzánová
As a setting for literary readings, the atmosphere of Prague’s HUB might just facilitate the inception of innovative and creative thoughts - after all, it is right on the premises of HUB that meet and work independent professionals, novice entrepreneurs, and representatives from companies and the nonprofit world - in short, everyone who takes part in the development of socially beneficial activities.
Jazz Dock
Daniela Kolářová a Emil Viklický
The modernist building of the Prague music club, Jazz Dock, also offers a very stylish setting for listening to literature. The club is exception not only for the adaptability of its interior spaces, but also for its musical focus on the best jazz and blues, and its support for composer-performers and newly formed bands. The location of the building on the banks of the Vltava, with views of the functionalist Manes gallery, the neoclassical National Theater, and boats passing by, promises an extraordinary experience. Read more about Jazz Dock at www.jazzdock.cz.
Libertas - Press
Karel Dobrý
The Libertas Press, proud of its three-centuries of history, which includes the phase of its existence as the Lithographical Institute, concerned with the printing of holy pilgrimage pictures, as well as its fusion with the Melatnrich Publishing House, offers visitors the possibility to listen to Portuguese literature.
Literary Café Symbiosis
Lenka Krobotová a Miloslav König
This café and wine-bar in Smichov, close to the Andel metro station, combines pleasant gatherings around cups of coffee or a glasses of good wine with literary delights, which Symbiosis offers through its various literary and cultural programs or simply with the chance to relax by its little library. It is possible to borrow or purchase there the works of interesting, well-known and also novice authors. The space has been primarily created for listening to English-language literature.
Lokál blok
Jan Bidlas
Thanks to its interestingly and richly appointed interior, superb modern cuisine, and the down-home attitude of its staff, the restaurant LOKAL BLOK has been a renown meeting place in the center of Prague for seven years already. Active athletes discovered this place first - all it required of them was to walk down a small stairway in order to find themselves in a space with the largest bouldering course in Europe. Sport fans and fired-up tourists come for large-screen projections. On two large screens they can sample interesting athletic competitions or videos, and even photographs, from non-traditional journeys around the world.
The Municipal Library - Market Hall
Jan Potměšil
Where else to sit hear literature read than right in a library? The Smichov branch of the Municipal Library in Prague is located on the first (English: second) floor of the former Smichov Market Hall. That wonderful fin-de-siecle building was erected between the years 1906 and 1909 by the architect Alois Čenský.
Křižík Palace
Miroslav Táborský
Křižik palace is located in Smichov, a traditional yet ever-developing[JL1] quarter of Prague. Smichov is also known as a place of living culture and robust commercial activity. In Křižik Palace historic design combines with today’s high standards and the technical foundations of the future; within it tradition connects with progress. Křižik Palace is the most modern “smart building” in Prague. It has a fully integrated central system that monitors access to the building, controls its security apparatus, lighting and even energy use.
Portheimka
Jan Budař
One of the most well-renown baroque architects, Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, initiated the construction of this picturesque Smichov summer palace back in the first half of the 18th century. The building is renown, not only for its Italian-influenced baroque architecture, but also for its unique decoration, including a ceiling fresco depicting a Bacchanalia in the copula of its marble hall by the artist Vavřinec Reiner. On the ground floor are located exhibition spaces, which will be one of the stops along this year’s Literature Night.
Staropramen - Visitor Center
Jiří Ornest
In an attempt to support the international reputation of the Staropramen brand a Visitor Center was founded in 2011 right on the premises of the contemporary brewery. Staropramen, as a general partner of the Czech Centre, offers it the use of this space, located right upon the banks of the Vltava at Smichov.
The Studio of the Švandovo Theatre
Jan Kačer
The Švandovo Theatre, as a modern European cultural center for the living arts, not only offers opportunities to enjoy the productions of its in-house dramatic company, but also provides spaces for alternative groups and the most diverse of projects. Thanks to its 130-year existence it holds the title of the third oldest theater building in Prague.
Wine Food Market
Ladislav Frej
The stylish atmosphere of an Italian market on the reconstructed premises of the garage of the former Radlicek Steam Dairy. People love popping in for a quick lunch, a business meeting, or a glass of good wine with friends.
| České centrum | Česká centra | E-mail: | CCPraha@czech.cz |  |
|
| Václavské nám. 816/49 | Web: | www.czechcentres.cz | |||
| 110 00 Praha 1 |