PLACE VENCESLAS (VÁCLAVSKÉ NÁMĚSTÍ)

It's more an avenue than a square. But with a length of 750 m and a width of 60 m, it certainly has the dimensions of one! It's a major shopping thoroughfare, where you can stroll up and down, looking at the beautiful Art Nouveau facades and fashionable shop windows. Work undertaken in recent years has returned the entire lower part of the square to pedestrians and streetcars, and the few remaining works in the upper part, below the National Museum, are due for completion in 2025. Architecturally coherent despite the diversity of styles, the square is dominated by the imposing National Museum (Národní muzeum), which closes off the eastern perspective. Also in the background is the "Magistrale". This absurd urban freeway was built in the 1970s for "pragmatic city control purposes": it was laid out to allow tanks to advance into the city center after the Prague Spring. Wenceslas Square remains steeped in historical memories, both recent and distant. Streetcars, which were banned from the square in the 1980s, returned in 2024, adding to its lively, picturesque character.

Equestrian statue of St. Wenceslas. Demonstrations, petitions and impromptu public debates are always held at the foot of this statue, at the foot of the museum. The equestrian statue of the saint, a bronze made in 1912 by the "national sculptor" Myslbeck, is a copy. The original is located in Vyšehrad Park.

Memorial to Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc. Not far from the statue of St. Wenceslas, a memorial marks the spot where student Jan Palach set himself on fire in 1969 to protest against the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops. A cross protruding from the cobblestones was also installed in 2000 to honor his memory. Further down, on the balcony of the Melantrichova building, Havel spoke on a certain day in November 1989, and the Velvet Revolution began.

The Lucerna Palace (Palác Lucerna) and its passage. Among the square's passageways, the Lucerna is the most spectacular. Dating from the early ^20th century, this gallery designed by Václav Havel (grandfather of former president Václav Havel) is a fine example of Art Nouveau. It's here, under the dome, that you can admire David Černý's curious creation: Kůň. Considered by some to be a parody of the statue of Wenceslas, here we identify a knight seated on the belly of his upturned horse.

Art nouveau and Art deco. Some of the buildings lining the square are remarkable for their architecture. Halfway up the square, the façade of the former Grand Hotel Europa will transport you back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the turn of the century. A prestigious example of the Prague Secession, every detail is refined, from the arabesques on the balconies to those on the handrails of the interior staircases. In the same style, the Koruna Palace, on the corner of Wenceslas Square and Na Příkopě, takes its name from the canteen it once housed, where you could have lunch for 1 Kč long ago. Look up at the monumental statues of Sucharda, leaning against the palace chimneys. The narrowest in Prague, the Koruna's façade on the Na Příkopě side is a marvel of line and proportion that heralds the Art Deco style.