Photos: Alena Pokorná, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Txllxt TxllxT, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo credits
Photos: Alena Pokorná, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Txllxt TxllxT, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Communist Prague and the Velvet Revolution
Your local guide
Ondřej Kučera
View profile
Highlights
- Wenceslas Square and the Jan Palach memorial
- The Národní třída plaque, marking 17 November 1989
- An upside-down horse inside the Lucerna passage
- A former secret police building, pointed out
- Hotel Jalta's Soviet-era bunker, from outside
About this tour
This session follows Communist Prague and the Velvet Revolution, from Wenceslas Square and its memorial to Jan Palach to the plaque marking the crackdown on Národní třída. You see the upside-down horse sculpture inside the Lucerna passage and Hotel Jalta, built with a Soviet-era bunker underneath. It looks at 1989 through the streets where it actually happened.
The guide checks sound in the square, then walks the route in the order events unfolded in November 1989. Questions can come in about the protests, the buildings or life before 1989 generally throughout the call. A short list of the sites and their dates follows afterwards.
This suits history readers with a specific interest in 1989 and the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. It also suits former visitors who walked these streets without knowing their recent history.
Included
- Live video walk with a local guide
- Questions to your guide all the way
- A short list of places to visit later
Not included
- Internet connection
- Travel to the city
Itinerary
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Welcome and sound check 7 min
The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Prague before heading out.
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Wenceslas Square 21 min
The camera holds on Wenceslas Square, wide enough to have held the crowds of 1989, and finds the small memorial to Jan Palach near the National Museum. The guide explains why Palach's protest still marks this spot decades later.
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Národní třída 21 min
On Národní třída the camera finds a plaque marking the 17 November 1989 crackdown that triggered the Velvet Revolution. The guide explains what happened on this street and how quickly the protests spread afterward.
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Lucerna passage and Hotel Jalta 21 min
Inside the Lucerna passage the camera looks up at an upside-down horse sculpture, a joke aimed at the statue in the square above. The guide finishes outside Hotel Jalta, a Soviet-era building with a nuclear bunker still beneath it.
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Your questions 14 min
Time to ask anything about Prague: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
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A short list to keep 6 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Trdelník and Vinohrady, worth a slower look.
Good to know
- A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
- Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
- Times are shown in Prague time, so check the time where you are before you book.
- The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
- Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
- Sessions run in small groups, up to 12 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.
Questions about this tour
What will the session cover?
The guide walks through Prague, showing you Charles Bridge and Petřín Hill live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.
What happens if my connection drops?
Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.
Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?
Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.
Do I need to know the history already?
No background needed. The guide explains everything as it comes up.
How it works
- You get one join link after booking.
- Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
- We meet on Google Meet; the link comes with your booking. I walk Prague live with my phone and you ask anything as we go.
Times shown in Prague time (CET)
Cancellation
Flexible
- Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
- Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
- If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
- Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.
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Next: Wed 28 Oct · 12 seats left From 19,00 €
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