Prague's Old Town Square officially welcomes centerpiece Christmas tree

Prague’s Old Town Square welcomed its annual centerpiece Monday night as a 26-meter Norway spruce from the Děčín region was erected by workers from the Technology of the Capital City of Prague (THMP).

The tree, originally 26 meters tall, was shortened by four meters to facilitate transport and now stands nearly 21 meters above the square’s pavement. Decorations will begin during the day, with the first festive lighting scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 29, at 4:30 p.m.

The spruce, which grew for 62 years near Jiřetín pod Jedlovou on private land, was cut down and transported to the city over the weekend. It was moved across the Edvard Beneš Embankment and Pařížská Street to its final location on the historic square.

“The tree must first be anchored in a two-meter shaft and correctly turned with the viewing side facing the main direction, i.e., facing the Old Town Hall,” specified the chairman of the board of directors of THMP, Tomáš Jílek.

THMP has planned a festive decoration scheme designed to evoke a white Christmas. The spruce will be adorned with 342 classic ornaments, 25 large light spheres ranging from 50 to 160 centimeters in diameter, and 8.5 kilometers of LED light chains arranged to resemble falling snow. Lower branches, slightly damaged during transport, will be tied and supplemented before the decoration begins.

“This year, we chose colors that will evoke the atmosphere of a white Christmas. The most striking decorations will be 25 white light balls of various sizes with a diameter of 50 to 160 centimeters. There will also be 342 classic Christmas decorations and approximately 8.5 kilometers of light chains on the tree,” said Jílek.

Officials are taking crowd management into account for the lighting ceremony, repeating the display several times a day to prevent large gatherings. The tree will remain on display until Epiphany, Jan. 6, 2026, as the centerpiece of Prague’s holiday celebrations.