Stop at Jan Palach Memorial (Památník Jana Palacha) to reflect on the changes that have taken place in this Eastern European country over the past 50 years on a Prague highlights tour or an itinerary that focuses on the city’s years under the Nazi and Communist totalitarian regimes. Private or small-group highlights tours generally also visit the city’s castle, old town, and Charles Bridge—and may even include a Vltava River cruise. Tours of the city’s Nazi and Communist sites cover the Communist Museum, Memorial of the Velvet Revolution, and other 20th-century landmarks.
The memorial is located in front of the National Museum on the far end of Wenceslas Square, near the entrance to the philosophy department of Charles University, where Palach was a student. The square is in the city center, a short walk from the main train station and other major city sights.
The open-air memorial can be visited at any time, though it is not lit at night so is better appreciated before sunset. Locals often leave flowers and votive candles at the site in the evening, when the square is quieter and less crowded.
Jan Palach’s body was initially buried in the Olšany Cemetery, the largest in Prague. His grave soon became a shrine for political protesters, however, and the Czech secret police exhumed his remains, which were sent to his family in their native town of Všetaty. In 1990, his ashes were buried at his memorial site.
