DK Travel : Prague : History & Culture

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Jan and Eva Švankmajer

Director Jan creates films in which his wife Eva’s Surrealist animated objects come to life.
Jan Hus

Hus (1370–1415) preached against Church corruption and was burned as a heretic.
Jan Svěrák

This young director is carrying Czech filmmaking into the 21st century with films such as Kolya (1996).
Jaroslav Hašek

A notorious joker and the author of the celebrated dig at the Austrian army, The Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk , Hašek was also the creator of the satirical Party for Moderate Progress Within the Bounds of the Law.
Jewish Town Hall

The hands of the town hall’s Rococo clock turn backwards, as the Hebrew letters on its face are read from right to left. The building was one of Mordecai Maisel’s gifts to his community in the late 16th century (see Mordecai Maisel), but it was renovated in Baroque style in 1763.
Jiří Menzel

Menzel won the country’s first Academy Award with Closely Watched Trains .
Johannes Kepler

The German astronomer (1571–1630) pioneered studies of planetary motion.
John Lennon Wall

Prague hippies and the secret police once waged a long-running paint battle here, as the latter constantly tried to eradicate the graffiti artists’ work. The original artwork, created by a Mexican student after Lennon’s assassination, has been painted over many times (see Czech Hippies Painted the John Lennon Wall), but the so-called John Lennon Peace Club still gathers annually at this self-made shrine to sing the former Beatle’s songs and praises.
Kampa Island

The tiny Čertovka (Devil’s Canal) that separates Kampa from Malá Strana was once the town’s “laundry”, milling area and, in the 17th century, home to a thriving pottery industry. A popular park now covers the island’s southern end (see Kampa Island) while the northern half is home to elegant embassies, restaurants and hotels. Much of the island was submerged during the 2002 flooding and many buildings had to be repaired.
Karel Čapek

This Czech writer is best known for his science fiction and psychologically penetrating novels. With his 1921 play R.U.R. (Rossum Universal Robots) he gave the world a word for an automaton, based on a Czech word for “forced labour”.