Jan Palach Square () is a

town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. It is located on right bank of the

Vltava River The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is common ...

next to the former

Jewish Quarter Jewish Quarter may refer to: *Jewish quarter (diaspora), areas of many cities and towns traditionally inhabited by Jews *Jewish Quarter (Jerusalem), one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem *Jewish Quarter (), a popular name ...

Buildings and structures

The western side of the square is adjacent to the Vltava River. The Mánes Bridge (1911–1916) connects Jan Palach Square to

Malá Strana Malá Strana ( Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or historically Menší Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant center o ...

(Lesser Town) on the opposite bank. This side of the square also offers a good view of

Prague Castle Prague Castle (; ) is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic serving as the official residence and workplace of the president of the Czech Republic. Built in the 9th century, the castle has long served as the seat of power for List of rulers ...

, Petřín Hill and

Charles Bridge Charles Bridge ( , ) is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century.; The bridge replaced ...

. On the north there is the

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

Rudolfinum Concert Hall (1876–1884). The building on the eastern side (1924–1930) houses the Faculty of Arts (Czech: ''Filozofická fakulta'') of

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

, and the building on the southern side (1885) belongs to the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (Czech: ''Vysoká škola umělecko-průmyslová''). There is a large underground

parking garage A multistorey car park (Commonwealth English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistorey, parking building, parking structure, parkade (Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck, or indoor parking, is a building designed fo ...

under the square, with surface structures of this facility slightly disturbing the overall impression of the square.Veřejné prostory Prahy , č. 12 , 2006 , archiv - A2 kulturní týdeník
Monuments to two personalities of Czech culture are situated here—a statue of composer

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

in front of Rudolfinum and a statue of painter Josef Mánes closer to the river.

History and names of the square

The previous name of the square, used through the communist era, was the ''Square of Red Army Soldiers'' (''Náměstí Krasnoarmějců'') from the year 1948, commemorating

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

soldiers killed during their liberation of Prague in May 1945. The place however had many names through the history, as it was an important intersection since

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

when there was an entrance to the main ford connecting both sides of the river and thus both parts of the city. In the

late modern period In many periodizations of human history, the late modern period followed the early modern period. It began around 1800 and, depending on the author, either ended with the beginning of contemporary history in 1945, or includes the contemporary h ...

the place was known as ''Rejdiště'' after

riding hall A riding hall, indoor arena, indoor school (UK English), or indoor ring (US English) is a building (part of an equestrian facility) that is specially designed for indoor horse riding. Smaller, private buildings contain only space for riding, w ...

standing in the place. But when a new prominent building of Rudolfinum Concert Hall was constructed and the square got its shape, it was also named after the Crown Prince Rudolf. During the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

it was renamed ''Empress Zita Square'' in honour of the new (and the last)

Empress of Austria This is a list of the Austrian empresses, archduchesses, duchesses and margravines, wives of the List of rulers of Austria, rulers of Austria. The monarchy in Austria was abolished at the end of the First World War in 1918. The different title ...

. Because of the Concert Hall, the place was renamed to ''Bedřich Smetana Square'' in honour of the famous Czech composer

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( ; ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival". He has been regarded ...

, after the proclamation of

Czechoslovak Republic Czechoslovak Republic (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá republika'', ČSR), was the official name of Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1939 and between 1945 and 1960. See: *First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938) *Second Czechoslovak Republic ...

in 1918 and later to ''Mozartplatz'' in honour of the German composer W. A. Mozart during the time of German occupation. In May 1945, fallen soldiers of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

were provisionally buried on the square, which was named again ''Bedřich Smetana Square'', but was renamed to ''Square of Red Army Soldiers'' only few years later. The current name ''Jan Palach Square'' was introduced briefly (and unofficially) in 1969 after a huge funeral crowd honoring the student

Jan Palach Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation in 1969 at age 20 was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resul ...

gathered there. Jan Palach immolated himself in January 1969 in protest against the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. After the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

, on 20 December 1989, the name ''Jan Palach Square'' was made permanent.

Transport

Jan Palach Square is accessible by

trams A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

Nos. 17 and 18 or by the A Line of

Prague Metro The Prague Metro () is the rapid transit network of Prague, Czech Republic. Founded in 1974, the system consists of three lines (Line A (Prague Metro), A, Line B (Prague Metro), B and Line C (Prague Metro), C) serving 61 stationsCounting the thre ...

. The exit of Staroměstská metro station is located next to the southeast corner of the square, and across the nearby bridge is Malostranská metro station.

References

{{Commons category, Náměstí Jana Palacha, Jan Palach Square Squares in Prague

Buildings and structures

History and names of the square

Transport

See also

References