Home to numerous brand-name stores and plenty of restaurants, Wenceslas Square is the commercial heart of Prague. It was designed in the 14th century as the centerpiece of New Town (Nove Mesto). It was first used as a horse market, and later renamed after Wenceslas, Bohemia’s patron saint. In 1918, the country’s independence was declared here, and it was a major site of protests against communism in 1989.
Lined with impressive buildings, such as the art nouveau Hotel Europa, and presided over by the neo-Renaissance National Museum, the square is a natural starting point for walking and biking tours of the city. In front of the museum stands a statue of St. Wenceslas by Josef Vaclav Myslbek. At the bottom of the museum steps, you’ll find a cross on the sidewalk, a memorial to Jan Palach and Jan Zajic who burned themselves to death in protest at the Soviet occupation in 1969.