Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHTS
JOHN LENNON WALL
OFFLINE MAP
After his murder on 8 December 1980, John Lennon became a pacifist hero for
many young Czechs. An
image of Lennon
was painted on a wall in a secluded
square opposite the French Embassy (there is a niche on the wall that looks like
a tombstone), along with political graffiti and Beatles lyrics. Despite repeated
coats of whitewash, the secret police never managed to keep it clean for long,
and the Lennon Wall became a political focus for Prague youth (most Western
pop music was banned by the communists, and some Czech musicians were
even jailed for playing it).
Post-1989 weathering and lightweight graffiti ate away at the political mes-
sages and images, until little remained of Lennon but his eyes, but visiting tour-
ists began making their own contributions. The wall is the property of the Knights
of Malta, and they have repainted it several times, but it soon gets covered with
more Lennon images, peace messages and inconsequential tourist graffiti. In re-
cent years the Knights have bowed to the inevitable and now don't bother to
whitewash it any more.
DON'T MISS...
»
Try to spot the image of Lennon among the myriad graffiti
PRACTICALITIES
»
Velkopřevorské náměstí
»
12, 20, 22
