Located inside the Lucerna Palace in Prague, this horse is hanging upside down from the ceiling…read morewith King Wenceslas riding it on its belly. Yeah, this is definitely art and it's a unique piece. Created by Prague-born artist David Černý who also did the Metalmorphosis in my home town of Charlotte, reviewed here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/metalmorphosis-giant-head-charlotte?hrid=qrzcC5yL-pquAlHATEqQlA. According to our guide, the statue used to hang lower but they raised it because people kept stealing the horse's tail. [Review 12220 overall, 2004 of 2019.]

It was a Fun place to visit- we enjoyed stopping by…read more Unfortunately a lot of graffiti on it.

John Lennon never visited Prague. However, one of the most photographed places in the Czech capital…read moreis the John Lennon Wall. John Lennon, legendary member of Liverpudlian band The Beatles and one of the all-time greats of music, has been a symbol of the pacifist movement since the 1970s. This wall has been a way for people to express their thoughts during all kinds of times, Communism, Oppression, etc. Despite being painted over by the authorities time after time, the graffiti soon reappeared. This continued repeatedly from 1980 onwards, with messages and pacifist drawings that were a source of irritation for the government. Messages included song lyrics by Lennon himself and The Beatles and also inspirational and activist slogans promoting world peace. Young Czechs began to experience an awakening and found their own personal placard in the wall. The wall became a true memorial to the musician's legacy and a place where people could write slogans supporting peace, the environment and solidarity. Today, anyone can leave their mark or message on this unusual wall. Every day there might be new graffiti on it so it always has a different look.

In front of the Estates Theatre, a strange figure sits on a plinth…read more The statue at the Estates Theatre was named Il Commendatore by its creator Anna Chromy and created the mysterious statue of the commander in the form of a wrinkled cloak without a figure or face to commemorate the premiere of Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre on October 29, 1787. Our guide mentioned that many drunken ones make a fool of themselves by putting their heads inside the statue's hooded area....then trying to pull themselves out....with no ease......an experience that has had many police people come to the rescue more than once. There are similar statues in other parts of the world. But this one in Prague is part of many of the guided tours.

Il Commendatore in Prague is an art piece by Anna Chromý. The Cloak of Conscience is a depiction of…read morea faceless figure hooded and shrouded in cloth. Here it is outside the opera house where Mozart first performed Don Giovanni in 1787. When asked about her inspiration for The Cloak of Conscience, Anna Chromy quoted Albert Einstein: "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science..." It is an interesting and mildly creepy sculpture. You'd like to see the face but there is no face and no body there. [Review 12239 overall, 2023 of 2019.]

Together with Josef Dobrovský, Josef Jungmann (1773-1847) is considered to be a co-creator of the…read moremodern Czech language. The man knew his accent marks. The bronze status was unveiled in 1878 and pictures Jungmann seated. The square is mostly restaurants and apartments. Also a poet and linguist and a leading figure of the Czech National Revival that took place during the 18th and 19th centuries as they moved away from the Germanization of Czech politics. [Review 12253 overall, 2037 of 2019.]

Viva Joseph Jungmann! This guy is a Bohemian Poet. The…read morelarger than life bronze statue shows him sitting there, thinking hard. He basically came up with all the Czech language! Think it's hard to pronounce those sixty letter words with crazy marks, umlauts, accents, and macrons? Thank this guy! It's a nice statue, right around the corner from where the first Pilsner Urquell was poured in a bar. When I went, there was some sort of memorial going on around it. I guess they were celebrating the little circle they put over the letter "a."

This bronze sculpture dominates the square in which it's located. About two meters square and made…read moreof bronze, it pictures a much smaller person sitting in the armchair, reading a book. Anonymous, you can not really even tell male or female, boy or girl. But for sure, they are swamped in the book. The seat of the chair has been rubbed where people climb on for a picture. Jaroslav Róna (1957) is a Czech sculptor, painter, actor, educator, and writer. Several of his pieces are in Prague and nearby. Jaroslav's website lists an impressive list of recent exhibitions in Prague and Czech Republic. [Review 12241 overall, 2025 of 2019.]

Twice I walked past this large sculpture and twice I did not understand. 12 meters tall (36 feet),…read morehere is the artist's own description (translated into English)... "The motive is the Creature, a figure and non-figure at the same time, assembled and welded from pieces of sharp iron which is the material the sculptor lives with and loves. A model for the Creature has its prototype if we can call the prototype a statue which is two and a half meters tall. According to his own words, Jan is assembling his huge, really huuuuuuuge Creature starting from its feet. The anthropomorphic shape on the border of an abstract expression is distinguished by Dostál's handwriting, full of sharp strokes and cutting angles. It has its visual background in a contemporary sci-fi world as well as in a tattoo subculture or it is a reflection of late sculptural modernism. The Creature is magnificent and comes to light so that Jan Dostál can reveal his strange, iron, sharp universe, his aesthetics which he lives with and which lives in him as Alien who you certainly cannot get rid of. " Anything you'd like to add? [Review 12266 overall, 2050 of 2019.]

The German artist Gunter Demnig started placing the first Stolpersteine, literally "stumbling…read morestones," in 1997 in Berlin. They have since been placed in many countries so that we the living never forget the Holocaust of World War II. A stolperstein is a concrete stone 10 x 10 cm with a brass plate on top, in which the name, date of birth, date of death and also place of death is engraved. They are placed in the pavement in front of the last place the victim was free, usually home or work before they fell victim to the Nazi program. Not just Jews, though there were certainly many Jewish victims of the Holocaust. But also homosexuals, Romani, Mormons, Protestants, Catholics, Freemasons, blacks and more. Millions were killed and these stones, placed throughout Europe (Milan, earlier this year https://www.yelp.com/biz/stolpersteine-milano?hrid=Yl0IRlzI-0kybWZ242trOA and Amsterdam last month https://www.yelp.com/biz/stolpersteine-amsterdam?hrid=tZkYC9p3VWom2s4k-xBOVw) seek to remind us of those horrors. There is a wikipedia article which lists Ervín Fröhlich's biographical details. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolpersteine_in_Prague-Josefov. Ervin's nephew served under Barack Obama as the US Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2014 to 2017. A human being is forgotten only when his or her name is forgotten. [Review 12263 overall, 2047 of 2019.]

Jan Želivský (1380-1422) was a prominent Czech priest during the Hussite Reformation. From the…read morewikipedia article. "Želivsky preached at Church of Our Lady of the Snows (Panny Marie Sněžné). He was one of a few Utraquist priests in Prague at the time and he was strongly influential, owing to his sermons which were noted both for their eloquence and their apocalyptic descriptions. On 30 July 1419, Želivsky led the Hussite procession through the streets of Prague, and past the New Town Hall. "The priest and his followers were, however, received with derision by the town-councillors, who appears at the windows, and stones were thrown at the procession. One of the stones struck Priest John [Želivsky]... and the infuriated people immediately attempted to storm the town hall." "This event ended in the First Defenestration of Prague, which was one of the major triggering events for the Hussite Wars. "For a time during the Second Anti-Hussite Crusade, he held almost ultimate authority over the lower classes in Prague. "After his defeat in the Battle of Brüx in 1421, Želivský was removed from command. On 9 March 1422, during the civil wars between the various Hussite factions, he was arrested by the town council of Prague and decapitated. If you're not familiar with the term "defenestration," it is when people are executed - they are thrown out high windows. The judge, the burgomaster and several members of the town council were killed. It led to the Hussite Wars (1419-1434). [Review 12264 overall, 2048 of 2019.]

This statue of Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) stands proudly in front of Prague's Rudolfinum. Dvořák…read morewas born not far away in 1841 and gained international fame as a composer. Symphonies and operas was his thing during the late 19th Century, utilizing rhythms and style from the folk music of Moravia and Bohemia. He has been described as "arguably the most versatile... composer of his time." Stop by and appreciate the statue then get some culture by enjoying his "New World" Symphony performed by the New York Philharmonic. https://youtu.be/HClX2s8A9IE Three stars not because he wasn't a great man but because the statue has corroded and needs a serious cleanup. [Review 12247 overall, 2031 of 2019.]