In the last three months of the year 2015, the Prague accommodation facilities signed 1, 385, 210 of incoming non-residents. That is more than a tenth of the entire population of the Czech Republic. And the number does not even include couchsurfers and people staying at their friends, so the actual number is even higher!
Wenceslas Square, unique Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge, National Theatre… it is mainly these historical monuments that make Prague one of most popular European destinations. But if you live, study or work in the centre of the Czech capital, the list of your favourite places usually includes something else than the Old Town Square. Let us take a closer look at where a Prague local would go….
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the country embraced the new opportunities, and creative people began coming up with new art and business ideas. As a result, nearly 30 years later, there are countless restaurants offering different cuisines, alternative cafés, design clothes shops, galleries of fine art (our personal favourite) or graffiti walls all around Prague.
This is why we created a new tour called Street Vibes. We want to show you around the city we call home from our own perspective and tell you what it is like to live in Prague today. We are glad that we can present to you David Černý’s statues. This artist is probably the first Czech person that we think of when it comes to “controversial artists”. He is either loved or hated for his extraordinary works of art. His first project that caught the attention of the public was when he painted an old Soviet tank pink.
The tank was exhibited in Smíchov since 1945 as a memorial of the liberation of Prague by the Soviet Red Army. On the night of 28 April 1991, the art student David Černý painted the military green tank in pink. His sassy night action provoked a huge response, both positive and negative. His opponents considered it an act of vandalism, while his supporters said it had been a cool expression of art. Černý was later charged with a small fine, which was paid by his supporters in the end. The pink tank was then transported to various museums and today, it is exhibited in the Prague Meet Factory Art Centre.
This is how David’s career of a controversial sculptor started. Today, all Czech people know his giant babies crawling up the Žižkov TV Tower, as well as his Entropa. The sculpture depicts European countries in a slightly racial way, therefore it has been criticised by many European politicians.
Whether you belong to the camp of his admirers or his critics, we would love to discuss your view on contemporary art in Prague with you. And there is no better place to do that than in our favourite stylish Café Neustadt, run by Ondřej Kobza. This urban entrepreneur says that his goal is to encourage spontaneity – that is why he installed pianos and chess tables in many different places in Prague. You can just sit down and play on the street, how cool is that?
So if you want to enjoy Prague, explore the real Prague of today, do not waste your opportunity to meet young local people and see it all for yourself with Street Vibes!