Prague Town Squares; Part II, Wenceslas Square
October 8th 2008 01:01
If the Old Town Square is the hub and heart of historic, touristic Prague, then Wenceslas Square is the centre of the modern, popular city.
It was designed in 1348 by the Emperor Charles IV, as a horse market. More a rectangle than a square in shape, it is 750 meters long and 60 meters wide. In function, it is less of square and more of a boulevard; traffic streams along both sides and trams cut across the centre. It is lined with shops, hotels, casinos, restaurants, discos, offices and food stands. Its pavements and central gardens throng with people day and night.
At the top end of Wenceslas Square the golden cupola of the National Museum dominates the skyline. From just below the grand old building, St Wenceslas, the legendary father of the Czech nation, surveys the scene through unblinking stone eyes. The Wenceslas statue “at the horse’s tail” is one of the popular meeting places for the people of Prague.
Just below the Wenceslas statue, a small round flowerbed with a modest memorial remembers the “victims of communism. Nearby a small bronze cross marks the place where 20 year ole philosophy student Jan Palach set fire to himself on January 16, 1969, in protest against the Soviet invasion. One million people attended his funeral which turned into a major demonstration against the communist regime.
Since the death of Jan Palach, Wenceslas Square has become a national symbol and the traditional centre for demonstrations and protests.
Looking up Wenceslas Square
The magnificent Europe Hotel in Wenceslas Square
At the top end of Wenceslas Square the golden cupola of the National Museum dominates the skyline. From just below the grand old building, St Wenceslas, the legendary father of the Czech nation, surveys the scene through unblinking stone eyes. The Wenceslas statue “at the horse’s tail” is one of the popular meeting places for the people of Prague.
The statue of St Wenceslas from the steps of the National Museum
Just below the Wenceslas statue, a small round flowerbed with a modest memorial remembers the “victims of communism. Nearby a small bronze cross marks the place where 20 year ole philosophy student Jan Palach set fire to himself on January 16, 1969, in protest against the Soviet invasion. One million people attended his funeral which turned into a major demonstration against the communist regime.
Since the death of Jan Palach, Wenceslas Square has become a national symbol and the traditional centre for demonstrations and protests.
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