Jan Palach Square

Staré Město


Jan Palach Square is named after the young Charles University student who, in January 1969, set himself alight in Wenceslas Square in protest against the Soviet invasion. On the eastern side of the square, beside the entrance to the philosophy faculty building where Palach was a student, is a bronze memorial plaque with a ghostly death mask.

Palach is buried in the Olšany Cemetery.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Staré Město attractions

1. Rudolfinum

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Presiding over Jan Palach Square is the Rudolfinum, home to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. This and the National Theatre, both designed by architects…

2. Galerie Rudolfinum

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Housed in the Rudolfinum complex of concert halls, this gallery specialises in changing exhibitions of contemporary art. The entrance is on the riverfront…

3. Museum of Decorative Arts

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This museum opened in 1900 as part of a European movement to encourage a return to the aesthetic values sacrificed to the Industrial Revolution. Once a…

4. Pinkas Synagogue

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The handsome Pinkas Synagogue was built in 1535 and used for worship until 1941. After WWII it was converted into a memorial, with wall after wall…

5. Old Jewish Cemetery

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The Old Jewish Cemetery is Europe’s oldest surviving Jewish graveyard. Founded in the early 15th century, it has a palpable atmosphere of mourning even…

6. Klaus Synagogue

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The Klaus Synagogue houses a good exhibit on Jewish ceremonies of birth and death, worship and special holy days.

7. Ceremonial Hall

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Built in 1912, the Ceremonial Hall was formerly the mortuary for the Old Jewish Cemetery, and is now the site of an interesting exhibition on Jewish…

8. Prague Jewish Museum

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This museum consists of six Jewish monuments clustered together in Josefov: the Maisel Synagogue; the Pinkas Synagogue; the Spanish Synagogue; the Klaus…