Small group walking tour of prague s wwii and communist history

Between Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, World War II and communism, Prague had a turbulent 20th century history. Learn about these events and the impact they had on the city and see historical landmarks and top Prague attractions on this historical walking tour in and around Old Town. Walk past buildings once occupied by Nazis, the KGB and SS; admire city squares like Wenceslas Square and the Square of the Republic; and visit the Old Jewish Cemetery in the historic Jewish quarter. Plus, hear interesting stories about these sites from a knowledgeable guide. With a maximum of just 20 people, this walking tour provides a small-group atmosphere.

After meeting your group and guide in central Prague, head straight into a dark period of the city’s history as you start your walking tour on Bartolomejska Street, passing an old prison the secret police used for interrogation and torture.

Continue to National Avenue (Národní), which acts as a border between Old Town and New Town. Hear from your guide about the students protests that took place here against the Nazi occupation in 1939, and then the communist regime 50 years later. Then head to Wenceslas Square, one of the city’s main squares and the historic center of the country’s fight against communism. Picture the square as it was during the 1968 ‘Prague Spring,’ covered with tanks and debris as the forces of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country.

Next, head to the Square of the Republic (Námestí Republiky), named for the independence of Czechoslovakia in 1918 and, ironically, the location of the Prague headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. As you walk around the square, listen to your guide tell you a bit about what went on in the city during World War II and communism. Learn how during the Nazi occupation, secret broadcast stations were set up by the Czech resistance, culminating in the 1945 Prague Uprising. And then how just three years later, the country entered communist rule.

Walk through Old Town, stopping to look up at a balcony from which the leader of the communist party announced his plan to take over the country. Next door, see the house where Albert Einstein spent time in the early 1900s during his work with the University of Prague – work that contributed to the physicist’s ideas that eventually led to the invention of the atom bomb.

Then pass through the Old Jewish Cemetery, which dates back to the 15th century, before continuing your tour to the former KGB and SS (Nazi Protection Squadron) headquarters. End your tour on the waterfront, admiring the Vltava River and listening to your guide's final tale about the world's largest Stalin statue and its demise.