PLACE VENCESLAS (VÁCLAVSKÉ NÁMĚSTÍ)

It's more of an avenue than a square. It must be recognized that with its 750 m length and 60 m width, it has the dimensions! It is a major commercial axis, a little too much so, since neon advertising tends to invade its facades. So, to fully appreciate it, you have to go up or down it by the middle promenade, between the traffic lanes, and, above all, look up to appreciate the superb buildings that border it. But it is the passages on the ground floor that are most surprising. With a great architectural coherence despite the diversity of styles, the square is dominated by the very imposing National Museum (Národní muzeum) which closes the perspective to the east. In the background too, the flow of cars on the "masterful". This absurd urban highway, built in the 1970s for "pragmatic urban control" purposes, causes a gap in the urban fabric that various development plans are now seeking to erase. Wenceslas Square remains full of recent and distant historical memories. Until 1983, trams operated on the square, which is now reserved for authorized vehicles.

Equestrian statue of Saint Wenceslas. It is always at the foot of this statue, at the foot of the museum, that demonstrations, petitions or improvised public debates are organised. The equestrian statue of the saint, a bronze made in 1912 by the "national sculptor" Myslbeck, is a copy. The original work is located in Vyšehrad Park.

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

The Lucerna Palace (Palác Lucerna) and its passage. Among the passages of the square, the Lucerna passage 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 is here, under the dome, that you can admire David's curious creation Černý : Kůň Considered by some to be a parody of Wenceslas' statue, this is a knight sitting on the belly of his overthrown horse.

Art nouveau and Art deco. Some of the buildings that border the square are remarkable for their architecture. On the square, halfway up the hill, the facade of the former hotel of the Grand Hotel Europa will take you back to the Austro-Hungarian empire of the beginning of the century. A prestigious example of the Prague Secession, down to the smallest detail, from the arabesques of balconies to those of interior staircase railings, everything is refined. In the same style, the Koruna Palace, at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Na Příkopě, takes its name from the canteen that was installed there and where you could have lunch for 1 Kč, a long time ago. Look up at the monumental statues of Sucharda, leaning against the chimneys of the palace. Prague's narrowest, the facade of the Koruna, on the Na side Příkopě, is a marvel of lines and proportions that announces the Art Deco style.