Prague Streets – Peace Square
In Czech this is known as Namesti Miru but for the purposes of the post I’ll just call it Peace Square. It’s located in the second district called Vinohrady. Now it’s a bustling public transport hub surrounded by cafes, restaurants and a theatre and dominated by a large church. But how did it get the name Peace Square?
Peace Square Going Way Back
Let’s begin in 1878 because that’s when the city planners started to implement their plan for this district. Up until that point there had been no square and it was just a road junction used by people driving cattle into the city to be sold at the Charles Square market. The idea was to create a grid system of streets much like the New Town was being reconstructed at the time. Except that what was planned here was a large open square which would be dominated by the Church of ST Ludmila (the sainted grandmother of “Good” King Wenceslas). Then the streets and blocks of buildings would radiate outwards from the square. Officially opened in 1884 it was named after famous Czech scientist Jan Evangelista Purkyne (Google for Protoplasm!).
The foundation stone of the Church of ST Ludmila was laid on November 25th 1888 and remarkably it was finished a month short of 5 years later. Look carefully and you’ll see it’s neo-Gothic style but fashionably for the late 19th Century the architect used bricks, not stone. If you think that the church reminds you of something then it’s possibly the west entry of ST Vitus Cathedral as the architect involved in both was Josef Mocker.
Peace Square More Recent
By 1926 the square was the centre of the area with several wide streets radiating from it. It was in 1926 that the name of the square became Peace Square and it’s a connection to World War One. You see as well as the renaming of the square, except for two roads that run either side of the theatre and the main road called Korunni (Crown Street), every other street radiating away from the square was renamed in honour of countries that fought against the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War One up to 1918 and hence provided the peace from which rose the new country called Czechoslovakia. So you’ll find streets in this area named for England, France, Belgium, Italy, Romania, Yugoslavia and America. If you are wondering why there is no Russia that’s because they officially stopped fighting in 1917 but don’t worry, they had a street named after them just a bit further away.
On May 20th 1945 a number of burials took place in the land adjacent to ST Ludmila. Soviet soldiers who had liberated the city 11 days earlier were still finding ways to get themselves killed. These bodies were later exhumed and moved to the Red Army section of the Olšany Cemetery.
Between 1956 and 1990 Peace Square was known as Wilhelm Pieck Square named after the German Communist President of the German Democratic Republic (otherwise known as East Germany) but was renamed again to Peace Square after the free democratic elections in Czech after the fall of Communism in 1989.
What’s at Peace Square?
The biggest tourist site is the Church of ST Ludmila. Locals will be using the tram lines and metro station from early morning until late at night and they’ll also be visiting the theatre which shows mainly Czech productions. Tourists will be found around the edges of the square in the many bars and restaurants (the streets called Korunni and Francouzska have many places to eat and drink). Peace Square also hosts an early Christmas Market and it’s the location of the famous Ladislav Červeny Hot Dog Stand.
Something Related or a Few Minutes Away
Parks and Gardens – Charles Square
Prague Christmas Markets – 8 Things to Know
History/WW2 – Thomas Vokes and William Greig
My Own Guided Tours – Cheaper Than You Think!
