Vystaviste Holesovice

Vystaviste Holesovice is a 36-hectare exhibition and events centre in Holešovice, Prague 7, at U výstaviště 67. Established in 1891 for the General Jubilee Exhibition, it occupies land formerly set aside from the Royal Game Reserve. The exhibition ran from 15 May to 18 October that year and drew about 2.5 million visitors.

The Art Nouveau Industrial Palace, designed by Bedřich Münzberger and Antonín Wiehl, opened on 15 March 1891 and remains the grounds’ dominant building. František Křižík designed the exhibition’s electric light fountain and an electric tramway linking Letná with Stromovka. The site was renamed Julius Fučík Park of Culture and Leisure in 1953, then returned to the name Výstaviště in 1990. The 1991 General Czechoslovak Exhibition brought the Křižík Pavilions and the conversion of a panoramic cinema into Divadlo Spirála.

The left wing of the Industrial Palace was destroyed by fire in 2008. Flooding in 2002 damaged Divadlo Spirála and destroyed the Křižík Fountain; the renovated Spirála reopened as a multi-genre venue in 2024. Among the grounds’ other attractions are the National Museum Lapidarium, Marold’s Panorama of the Battle of Lipany, Sea World aquarium and Pyramid Theatre. Renovations in 2023–2024 added public green terraces across the pavilions’ roofs. The centre has a stated capacity of about 20,000.

Prague City Hall took over management in 2015, with Výstaviště Praha managing the site. The Matějská Fair has been held there annually since moving from Dejvice in 1964, and the grounds hosted Metronome Festival Prague in 2018. Let It Roll and Liquicity have run events at the centre; artists to play there include Camo & Krooked, Culture Shock and Technimatic.