Výstaviště renovations taking shape

City Hall is going forward with plans to renovate Výstaviště in Prague’s Holešovice district.

It will be transformed into an area where Praguers can spend their free time. In addition to larger-scale investment projects, which have been planned for the area for many years, smaller, but more practical adjustments will begin.

“In Výstaviště we will create a modern area where people in Prague go to have fun, play sports or just relax. Today it is a bit neglected and people do not perceive it as a place to relax on the weekend. At the same time, together with the Stromovka area and the other bank of the Vltava, where there is, for example, the zoological garden, it should create a unique recreational zone,” Deputy Prague Mayor Pavel Vyhnánek (Praha Sobě) said.

Long-delayed investment projects, such as the complete reconstruction of Průmyslový palác (the Industrial Palace), including the completion of the left wing according to its original form, as well as the renovation of the Spirála Theater into a multifunctional hall or the Bohemia restaurant, will soon begin in the area.

Spirála Theater will serve as a multifunctional space for conferences, exhibitions and corporate events during the reconstruction of the Průmyslový palác. Individual buildings of the Křižík pavilions, including the Křižík Fountain Amphitheater, which offer the largest covered tribunes for cultural events in Prague, will also undergo repairs.

The left wing of the Průmyslový palác was damaged in a fire in 2008 when an electric stove was left on overnight during an exhibition. It has been covered by a tent ever since.

Newly renovated are the interiors of the Pražan restaurant and the area in front of the restaurant, which has new pavement and a new summer garden. There is also a built-in microbrewery in the cellar of the building.

The Marold Panorama was also newly reopened. The renovation took place at a fraction of the price originally planned by City Hall's previous management. Now the panorama offers new surround sound and extended opening hours with a common entrance fee for schools with the nearby Planetarium.

There will also be significant changes to the lower part of the complex. Roads and sidewalks will be repaired. The foundations and remnants of the already demolished buildings will be removed, the lawns will be revitalized and the park is being modified to offer nice places to sit in the grass.

Also, the wiring needs to be repaired and new public lighting will be installed. Two new entrance gates from Stromovka will be created so that people will have easy access to the newly emerging sports-relaxation zone.

In June, there will be a new rope playground, fitness and workout training ground and a picnic area with modern public grills. A new, modern cuisine pavilion will also be built near them in the autumn. This will only be the beginning of a significant change in this part of Výstaviště. Sports activities are complemented by a newly opened boulder wall at the swimming pool, one of the most modern in Europe with a total area of 192 square meters.

“Our task is to make Výstaviště a place where Praguers normally go and enjoy. It is a place with a rich history and interesting architecture, with an unmistakable genius loci.

We want to make it a multifunctional space, open year-round, where its visitors always find something new and interesting. And we will offer a number of changes this year,” Tomáš Hübl, chairman of the board of the company Výstaviště Praha Holešovice said.

Výstaviště was built for the Jubilee Exhibition of 1891, also called the General Land Centennial Exhibition. There was a large renovation of the area in 1991. During the communist era, party