Wenceslas Square, Prague

Wenceslas Square opens out before you as a broad city boulevard, not a compact plaza. It bears the name of Saint Wenceslas, patron saint of Bohemia. At the museum end, the statue of Wenceslas gives this sweep of paving a ceremonial focus.

Charles the Fourth created Prague’s New Town in 1348, and this space began as the Horse Market. In 1918, Alois Jirásek read the declaration establishing independent Czechoslovakia beside the saint’s statue. Jan Palach set himself alight here in 1969 in protest against the Warsaw Pact invasion.

Vast crowds returned during the Velvet Revolution in 1989. That history explains why celebrations, protests, and public assemblies still belong so naturally here. The avenue is being remade again: work began in 2024 to restore tram tracks and reshape its upper stretch.