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Oct 04, 2026
Prague's Oldest Nightclub Lávka is Closing After 36 years
Prague Morning
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One of Prague’s best-known nightlife venues is closing after more than three decades beside the Charles Bridge.
Lávka, which opened in 1990 on the banks of the Vltava, held its final farewell party on September 30. The club will leave its historic premises by October 8 as the City of Prague prepares to renovate the building.
For 36 years, Lávka was more than a nightclub. Its programme included concerts, theater, exhibitions, fashion shows and other cultural events. Its visitors included former president Václav Havel, politician Karel Schwarzenberg and singer Karel Gott.
The venue also hosted Czech acts including Lucie and Lunetic, as well as international performers such as Supertramp and R.E.M.
The first version of the venue was modest. It began as a theater bar in the Bedřich Smetana Museum, replacing the building’s cloakroom. With little money available, co-founder Boris Gaydečka and his partners constructed the bar themselves using scaffolding and wooden boards found on the site.
Advertising on the newly launched Radio Evropa 2 helped attract customers, and the business soon outgrew its original space.
Over the years, Lávka became a regular stop for performers from very different parts of Prague’s cultural scene. Its stage hosted the avant-garde Opera Mozart, the Semafor theater and the Spejbl and Hurvínek Theatre.
During the catastrophic floods of 2002, water eventually reached the ceiling despite efforts to protect the premises.
The damage was extensive. Seating was destroyed, a piano borrowed from the museum was swept away and doors were torn from their hinges.
The building is now being cleared
The end of Lávka’s original premises is linked to a wider renovation of the historic building.
The former Old Town Waterworks building belongs to the City of Prague and has been associated with the Bedřich Smetana Museum since 1936. The museum will also leave the building as part of the planned renovation.
Lávka will continue operating a canteen and café in the neighboring building owned by the Czech Association of Scientific and Technical Societies.
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