The exhibition Design for Václav Havel at the Prague Castle Riding School will present a selection of design works and other pieces created either on the initiative of Václav Havel or in connection with the transformation of Prague Castle during his presidency. Its centerpiece will be the return of Havel’s study, designed by Bořek Šípek in the early 1990s, which is returning to Prague Castle for the first time in over twenty years thanks to Designblok. Alongside it, visitors will see objects that continue to shape the character of the Castle’s interior to this day, as well as works that are ordinarily inaccessible to the public. For the very first time, this collection will be presented together in a single venue. The exhibition is organized by Designblok and Prague Castle on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of Václav Havel’s birth. Within the framework of Designblok, it will be open to the public from October 7 to 11, 2026, with a festival pass, and subsequently free of charge from October 21, 2026, to January 17, 2027.
After more than two decades, President Václav Havel’s study—designed for him by Bořek Šípek between 1993 and 1994—is returning to Prague Castle thanks to Designblok. Its return marks the focal point of the Design for Václav Havel exhibition, curated for the Prague Castle Riding School by Andrea Běhounková and Jana Zielinski. Following its dismantling in 2003, the entire interior was kept in the collection of private owners. The study, which ranks among the most distinctive designs associated with Havel’s presidency, comprises a desk, a chest of drawers, and a bookcase, which, together with a selected Cab chair by Mario Bellini, formed the setting where Havel actually worked and from which he delivered numerous New Year’s addresses and other major speeches. The exhibition is produced in collaboration between Designblok and Prague Castle, with the support of the VIZE 97 Foundation.
“The entire study was rescued and removed from the Castle after the president’s term ended by the Kolek couple, who took it to their chateau near Opava and from whom we succeeded in borrowing it for the exhibition. The study spent 24 years in an attic under a tarp, and now, following minor restoration work, it is returning to Prague Castle,” says Jana Zielinski, curator of the exhibition and director of Designblok.
The Design for Václav Havel exhibition will showcase items that have never been exhibited together before and which ordinary visitors to Prague Castle do not have the opportunity to see. The exhibition intentionally focuses on design rather than the architectural projects carried out at Prague Castle during Havel’s presidency. In addition to President Václav Havel’s aforementioned study, visitors will see the Olga chair by Bořek Šípek, the collection of Castle Guard uniforms and the uniform of the President of the Republic designed by Theodor Pištěk, and the President dining service by Jiří Laštovička, created as Prague Castle’s new official state dinnerware. Alongside design pieces, several artworks directly associated with Václav Havel will be on view, such as his bust by Michal Gabriel or the design for the flying leopardess that Havel commissioned for the space above the entrance to the Office of the President of the Republic.
“We were struck by the fact that Václav Havel was not merely a client; he took an active interest in the design of individual projects and sought creators capable of combining exceptional professionalism with cultural and personal integrity. Beyond the specific objects themselves, the main goal of the exhibition is to present the first post-November president as a co-creator. Visitors will have the chance to see several of his sketches, including those for the legendary Olga chair,” says Andrea Běhounková, curator of the exhibition.
During the post-1989 transformation of Prague Castle, Václav Havel collaborated with prominent figures in Czech architecture, design, and art, including Eva Jiřičná, Josef Pleskot, Theodor Pištěk, and above all Bořek Šípek, with whom he shared a long-standing and intense partnership. Through specific objects, the exhibition highlights Havel’s extraordinary relationship with the environment where public life takes place, as well as his deep engagement with the form of each project.
The exhibition is curated by Andrea Běhounková and Jana Zielinski and organized in partnership between Designblok and Prague Castle. Special thanks for cooperation also go to the VIZE 97 Foundation.
Other Exhibition Projects at Prague Castle
This year’s Designblok at Prague Castle will also feature the fourth edition of the curated exhibition High Craft, organized in collaboration with Vogue CS. Held in the Prague Castle Riding School, it will present more than two dozen Czech designers and brands that advance traditional Czech crafts through contemporary technology, ecological approaches, and new aesthetic principles.
At the same time, Designblok will open the Chapel of the Holy Rood in Prague Castle’s Second Courtyard to the public for the first time, transformed by the installation Circle of Silence by designer and artist Eva Eisler. Thanks to the installation, the deconsecrated chapel will become a space for slowing down and quiet contemplation. The exhibition is curated by Michaela Kádnerová, member of the Designblok Program Board and curator at the Moravian Gallery in Brno.
Design for Václav Havel as Part of the Havel ALIVE Festival
The Design for Václav Havel exhibition is also part of the Havel ALIVE festival, organized by Prague Castle from October 2026 to January 2027 to mark the 90th anniversary of Václav Havel’s birth. The festival will feature theater, film, music, design, public panel discussions, and educational programs, revisiting Havel’s legacy and its ongoing relevance to contemporary society through diverse forms of art and culture.
“Václav Havel was a Renaissance man, and we are building on his legacy, which remains very much alive in society. That is why we wanted to make the festival program as varied as possible. We have included theater, film, music, design, debates, and educational programs for schools so that everyone can find something of interest. People will have many reasons to return to Prague Castle repeatedly. Moreover, most of the program will be free of charge,” explains Veronika Wolf, Cultural and Program Director of Prague Castle.
The 28th Designblok is held under the auspices of Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic, and Bohuslav Svoboda, Mayor of the City of Prague. The theme of this year’s international festival of design and fashion is Light. The public festival will run from October 7 to 11, 2026, across several key locations: the Trade Fair Palace (National Gallery Prague), the Prague Castle Riding School, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, and the Industrial Palace at the Prague Exhibition Grounds (Výstaviště Praha). These venues will be complemented by dozens of showrooms and galleries throughout Prague. Designblok Talks, the second edition of the conference dedicated to design, architecture, and development, will take place on October 6 and 7, 2026, in the historic central hall of the Industrial Palace. Professionals’ Day will take place on Tuesday, October 6, 2026.
