Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Czech Radio Building
Warsaw-Pact tanks invaded
the Czech capital in 1968 to put
an end to Alexander Dub≤ek's
Prague Spring liberalization.
Among those who paid for their
resistance with their lives were
Czech Radio journalists, who first
broadcast the news that the
nation was under attack. A
plaque in front of the building
honours their bravery.
d
Vino-
hradská 12, Vinohrady • Map B6 • Closed
to the public
Czech Radio Building
Congress Centre
Communist Czechoslovakia's
planners sought to decentralize
Prague, building monoliths such
as the former Palace of Culture
anywhere but in the actual city
centre. The post-Communist
government has refurbished the
interior in a bid to turn it into a
major convention centre, but, as
yet, they haven't managed to find
a buyer
(see p121)
.
RFE Building
From its construction in the
1970s until Czechoslovakia split
into Czech and Slovak republics
in 1993, this was the Federal
Assembly building. If there are
bored young soldiers guarding
the entrance when you visit, it
means Radio Free Europe is still
broadcasting to Afghanistan.
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Vinohradská 1, New Town • Map H5
• Closed to the public
And∂l Metro
In the reconstruction of the
And∂l Centre, developers
removed an epic mosaic tribute
to the friendship between
Moscow and Prague, but from
the metro platforms below, you
can still see frieze tributes to
Soviet cosmonauts. Even if
you're not riding the metro, you
will need a standard ticket to
access the platform.
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Map A6
Museum of Communism
This museum seeks to help
visitors experience totalita-
rianism first-hand through
reproductions and genuine
objects from the Communist era.
The most chilling area is the
reconstructed interrogation
room. Although locals might not
agree, the tour is more fun than
it sounds
(see p37)
.
Sbrat∫ení
This bronze statue
recalls the Red Army's
liberation of Prague in
1945: a grateful resis-
tance fighter greets a
Soviet footsoldier with
a bunch of lilac and a,
presumably brotherly,
kiss. It's one of the
few pro-Soviet monu-
ments still standing in
Prague.
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Vrchlického
sady • Map G4
Museum of Communism
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