Wenceslas Square

Wenceslas Square is a large square in Prague city centre, between the Old Town and Vinohrady. Wenceslas Square looks like a wide street, but there is not much car traffic there. Wenceslas Square is a prestigious location for corporate offices, restaurants, department stores, and hotels.

Wenceslas Square has been the site of many important events in the modern Czech history. Great victories and defeats were witnessed here, among them the Nazi occupation during World War II, Soviet invasion in 1968, or Velvet Revolution in 1989.

How to Get to Wenceslas Square

There are two metro stations at Wenceslas Square and thanks to them the square has direct access to all three Prague metro lines. At the top end of Wenceslas Square, in front of National Museum, there is Muzeum Metro Station (lines A and C). At the bottom end of Wenceslas Square, near Old Town Square and Na Prikope Street, there is Mustek Metro Station (lines A and B). There is also a tram stop (Vaclavske Namesti) approximately in one third of Wenceslas Square closer to the bottom. However, Prague city centre is not very large and the best (and fastest) way to get to Wenceslas Square from many places (including Old Town Square, Narodni Trida, Namesti Republiky, or Prague Main Train Station) is on foot.

St. Wenceslas Monument

At the upper end of Wenceslas Square there is the statue of St. Wenceslas on a horse.

Wenceslas (or Wenceslaus) was the Duke of Bohemia in early 10th century and member of the Premyslid dynasty. He is best known through his tragic death – he was murdered in 935 AD (the year and date is disputed, some sources state 929 or 932) by a group of nobles led by his younger brother, Boleslav. The site of the murder, a church in Stara Boleslav (about 20 km from Prague), is an important religious place. There are many legends connected with St. Wenceslas and he even occurs in a popular christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas” (interestingly, this carol is well-known in the English speaking world, but not much in the Czech Republic).

St. Wenceslas became a patron of the Czech state and St. Wenceslas Day (28th September) is celebrated as national holiday in the Czech Republic. St. Wenceslas Monument at the top of Wenceslas Square has been a popular meeting point, because it’s very easy to locate even for tourists and foreigners.

National Museum

Behind St. Wenceslas and his horse at the upper end of Wenceslas Square you can see the large old building of the National Museum. The museum is interesting from the outside and even more so inside, where you can visit several permanent exhibitions, mostly somehow connected to the Czech Republic and its history, nature, or arts. Prague National Museum also frequently features various temporary expositions.

Muzeum Metro Station

The best access to the upper half of Wenceslas Square, St. Wenceslas Monument, and National Museum, is by metro. Muzeum Metro Station is situated directly in front of National Museum building and it is the intersection of two metro lines, A (green) and C (red).

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