Wenceslas Square
Encyclopedia
New Town, Prague
The New Town is a quarter in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. New Town is the youngest and largest of the five independent towns that today comprise the historic center of modern Prague...
of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. Many historical events occurred there, and it is a traditional setting for demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
, celebrations, and other public gatherings. The square is named after Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Bohemia. It is part of the historic centre of Prague, a World Heritage Site.
Formerly known as Koňský trh (Horse Market), for its periodic accommodation of horse markets during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, it was renamed Svatováclavské náměstí (English: Saint Wenceslas square) in 1848 on the proposal of Karel Havlíček Borovský
Karel Havlícek Borovský
Karel Havlíček Borovský was a Czech writer, poet, critic, politician, journalist, and publisher. He lived and studied at the Gymnasium in Německý Brod , and his house on the main square is today the Havlíček Museum...
.
Features
Less a square than a boulevardBoulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
, Wenceslas Square has the shape of a very long (750 m, total area 45,000 m²) rectangle
Rectangle
In Euclidean plane geometry, a rectangle is any quadrilateral with four right angles. The term "oblong" is occasionally used to refer to a non-square rectangle...
, in a northwest–southeast direction. The street slopes upward to the southeast side. At that end, the street is dominated by the grand neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
Czech National Museum
National Museum (Prague)
The National museum is a Czech museum institution intended to systematically establish, prepare and publicly exhibit natural scientific and historical collections. It was founded 1818 in Prague by Kašpar Maria Šternberg...
. The northwest end runs up against the border between the New Town and the Old Town
Old Town, Prague
Old Town is a medieval settlement of Prague, Czech Republic. It was separated from the outside by a semi-circular moat and wall, connected to the Vltava at both of its ends. The moat is now covered up by the streets Revolučni, na Příkopě, and Národni—which remain the official boundary of the...
.
History
In 1348, BohemiaBohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n King Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
founded the New Town of Prague. The plan included several open areas for markets, of which the second largest was the Koňský trh, or Horse Market (the largest was the Charles Square
Charles Square
Charles Square is a city square in the New Town of Prague, Czech Republic. It is one of the largest squares in the world and very likely the largest medieval square in Europe. Founded in 1348 as the main square of the New Town by Charles IV, it was known as Dobytčí trh from the 15th century and...
). At the southeastern end of the market was the Horse Gate, one of the gates in the walls of the New Town.
During the Czech national revival
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
movement in the 19th century, a more noble name for the street was requested. At this time the statue was built, and the square was renamed.
On October 28, 1918, Alois Jirásek
Alois Jirásek
Alois Jirásek was a Czech writer, author of historical novels and plays. Jirásek was a secondary-school teacher until his retirement in 1909. He wrote a series of historical novels imbued with faith in his nation and in progress toward freedom and justice...
read the proclamation of independence of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
in front of the Saint Wenceslas statue.
The Nazis used the street for mass demonstrations. During the Prague Uprising
Prague uprising
The Prague uprising was an attempt by the Czech resistance to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation during World War II. Events began on May 5, 1945, in the last moments of the war in Europe...
in 1945, a few buildings near the National Museum were destroyed. They were later replaced by department stores.
On January 16, 1969, student Jan Palach
Jan Palach
Jan Palach was a Czech student who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest.- Death :...
set himself on fire in Wenceslas Square to protest the invasion of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1968.
On March 28, 1969, the Czechoslovakian national ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team defeated the USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
team for the second time in that year's Ice Hockey World Championships
Ice Hockey World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...
. As the country was still under Soviet occupation, the victory induced great celebrations. Perhaps 150,000 people gathered on Wenceslas Square, and skirmishes with police developed. A group of agents provocateurs
Agent provocateur
Traditionally, an agent provocateur is a person employed by the police or other entity to act undercover to entice or provoke another person to commit an illegal act...
provoked an attack on the Prague office of the Soviet airline Aeroflot
Aeroflot
OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...
, located on the street. The vandalism served as a pretext for reprisals and the period of so-called normalization
Normalization (Czechoslovakia)
In the history of Czechoslovakia, normalization is a name commonly given to the period 1969 to about 1987. It was characterized by initial restoration of the conditions prevailing before the reform period led by Alexander Dubček , first of all, the firm rule of the Communist Party of...
.
In 1989, during the Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
, large demonstrations (with hundreds of thousands of people or more) were held here.
Wenceslas Square is lined by hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s, offices, retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
stores, currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
exchange booths and fast-food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
joints. To the dismay of locals and city officials, the street is also a popular location for prostitutes
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
to ply their trade late at night. Many strip club
Strip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
s exist on and around Wenceslas Square, making Prague a popular location for stag parties
Bachelor party
A bachelor party , also known as a stag party, stag night or stag do , a bull's party , or a buck's party or buck's night , is a party held for a man shortly before he enters marriage, to celebrate his "last night of freedom" or merely to spend...
.
Art and architecture
The two obvious landmarks of Wenceslas Square are at the southeast, uphill end: the 1885–1891 National Museum BuildingNational Museum (Prague)
The National museum is a Czech museum institution intended to systematically establish, prepare and publicly exhibit natural scientific and historical collections. It was founded 1818 in Prague by Kašpar Maria Šternberg...
, designed by Czech architect Josef Schulz
Josef Schulz
Josef Schulz, also spelled Joseph Schultz , was a German soldier of the 714th Infantry Division stationed in the Balkans, Serbia during World War II. He died in 1941, allegedly executed after refusing to take part in a partisan execution. The German High Commandrecorded him as killed in action....
, and the statue of Wenceslas.
The mounted saint was sculpted by Josef Václav Myslbek
Josef Václav Myslbek
Josef Václav Myslbek was a Czech sculptor credited for founding of the modern Czech sculpting style.Josef grew up poor in a suburb of Prague. His family pushed him to become a shoemaker but he shirked the duty by getting a job with a succession of Czech sculptors...
in 1887–1924, and the image of Wenceslas is accompanied by other Czech patron saints carved into the ornate statue base: Saint Ludmila
Saint Ludmila
Saint Ludmila is a Czech saint and martyr venerated by the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. She was born in Mělník as daughter of a Slavic prince Slavibor...
, Saint Agnes of Bohemia, Saint Prokop, and Saint Adalbert of Prague. The statue base, designed by architect Alois Dryák
Alois Dryák
Alois Dryák was Czech architect and professor of ornamental design.Dryák is most famous for the design of the ornamental detail on Art Nouveau masterpieces such as...
, includes the inscription: "Svatý Václave, vévodo české země, kníže náš, nedej zahynouti nám ni budoucím" ("Saint Wenceslas, duke of the Czech land, prince of ours, do not let perish us nor our descendants"). A memorable parody of this statue, created by David Černý
David Cerný
David Černý is a Jewish - Czech sculptor whose works can be seen in many locations in Prague. His works tend to be controversial. He gained notoriety in 1991 by painting a Soviet tank pink that served as a war memorial in central Prague...
, hangs in a Lucerna Palace gallery near the square.
Other significant buildings on the square include:
- Antonin Pfeiffer and Matěj Blecha's Palác Koruna office building and shopping center, #1–2, 1912–1914, with architectural sculpture by Vojtěch SuchardaVojtech SuchardaVojtěch Sucharda ) was a Czech sculptor, woodcarver and puppeteer.Sucharda was the founder of Prague's Ríše Loutek Theater in 1920, and he is known for restoring the wooden figures of the apostles on the Prague Astronomical Clock, which had been heavily damaged by enemy fire in mid-May 1945...
- Ludvík Kysela's Lindt Building, #4, an early work of architectural constructivism
- the BAŤA shoe store, #6, 1929
- Matěj Blecha and Emil KrálíčekEmil KrálícekEmil Králíček was a Czech architect.Králíček studied at Prague Industrial Arts School and in the offices of Antonin Balsanek in Prague and Joseph Maria Olbrich in Darmstadt. He began designing in Prague around 1900 in the office of Matěj Blecha, and worked in the styles of classicism, Art...
's Adam Pharmacy, #8, 1911–1913 - Jan KotěraJan KoteraJan Kotěra was a Czech architect, artist and interior designer, and one of the key figures of modern architecture in Bohemia.-Biography:...
's Peterka Building, #12, 1899–1900 - Pavel JanákPavel JanákPavel Janák was a Czech modernist architect, furniture designer, town planner, professor and theoretician.Janák studied with Otto Wagner in Vienna between 1906 and 1908, and worked in Prague under Jan Kotěra...
's Hotel Juliš, #22, 1926 - Alois DryákAlois DryákAlois Dryák was Czech architect and professor of ornamental design.Dryák is most famous for the design of the ornamental detail on Art Nouveau masterpieces such as...
's Hotel Europa, #25–27, 1905 redesign, with architectural sculptor Ladislav ŠalounLadislav ŠalounLadislav Jan Šaloun was an important Czech sculptor of the Art Nouveau period.Šaloun studied in the studios of Tomáš Seidan and Bohuslav Schnirch, was involved as an artist in the Mánes Union of Fine Arts, This independent education allowed him to avoid the influence of Josef Václav Myslbek,... - Antonin Wiehl's Wiehl House, #34, 1896
- the MelantrichMelantrichMelantrich was a large Czech language publishing house connected with the Czech National Social Party. Established in 1897, the publisher remained in existence until 1999....
Building, #36, 1914, where Alexander DubčekAlexander DubcekAlexander Dubček , also known as Dikita, was a Slovak politician and briefly leader of Czechoslovakia , famous for his attempt to reform the communist regime during the Prague Spring...
and Václav HavelVáclav HavelVáclav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
appeared together on its balcony in November 1989, a major event of the Velvet RevolutionVelvet RevolutionThe Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
Transport
The Prague MetroPrague Metro
The Prague Metro is a subway, underground public transportation network in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the fastest means of transportation around the city and serves about one and a half million passengers a day, which makes it the seventh busiest metro system in Europe and the most-used in the...
's line A
Line A (Prague Metro)
Line A is a line of the Prague Metro, serving the Czech Republic capital. Chronologically the second line in the system, it was first opened in 1978 and has expanded mostly during the 1980s...
runs underneath Wenceslas Square, and the Metro's two busiest stations, Muzeum
Muzeum
Muzeum is a Prague Metro station providing the interchange between Lines A and C, and serving the National Museum. It is located at the top end of Wenceslas Square....
(lines A and C) and Můstek
Mustek
Můstek is a Prague Metro station that serves as an interchange point between lines A and B...
(lines A and B), have entrances on the street. Tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
tracks running the length of the street were removed from the street in 1980; a proposal to reintroduce trams is under consideration. Currently trams bisect the square only. Most of the street is open to automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
traffic; the northwestern end is pedestrianised.
Literary references
Wenceslas Square is the name of a theatricalTheatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
by Larry Shue
Larry Shue
Larry Shue was an American playwright and actor, best known for writing two often-performed farces, The Nerd and The Foreigner.-Early life:...
, which is set in Prague.
Wenceslas Square is the name of a story written by Arthur Phillips
Arthur Phillips
Arthur Phillips is a Jewish American novelist active in the 21st century. His novels include Prague , The Egyptologist , Angelica , The Song Is You , and The Tragedy of Arthur -Life:Phillips was born in Minneapolis, received a BA in history from Harvard...
, which takes place in Czechoslovakia at the end of the Cold War. The story was published in the compendium Wild East: Stories from the Last Frontier, and featured in Episode 337 of the radio show This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
.