Palach and Zajíc Memorial in Prague

The Palach and Zajíc Memorial stands on Wenceslas Square in Prague, at the upper end of the square, right next to the National Museum and close to the statue of St. Wenceslas. It marks the spot connected to two students who set themselves on fire in 1969 in protest against the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia.

Where exactly is the memorial located?

The memorial sits a few metres from the fountain in front of the National Museum building, at the very spot where, on 16 January 1969, Jan Palach doused himself in petrol and set himself alight. It occupies one of the most symbolically charged points along the whole of Wenceslas Square, the grand boulevard that runs up toward the museum in the heart of Prague's New Town.

What does the memorial look like and what does it symbolize?

The composition consists of two low, circular mounds rising out of the paving stones, linked by a bronze cross. The shape of the cross is meant to evoke charred wood, while the whole arrangement symbolizes a human figure transformed into a burning torch. The direction in which the cross points marks the direction in which the burning Palach fell. The names and life dates of both students are engraved on the left arm of the cross. The sculptural part of the memorial was created by Barbora Veselá, with the architectural design by Čestmír Houska and Jiří Veselý. The memorial was unveiled on 16 January 2000, on the 31st anniversary of Palach's death.

Who were Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc?

Jan Palach, born on 11 August 1948, studied history and political economy at Charles University in Prague. On 16 January 1969 he set himself on fire on Wenceslas Square in protest against the crushing of the Prague Spring reforms by Warsaw Pact troops, which had invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968. In a note he left behind, titled "Torch No. 1," he demanded an end to press censorship and called on citizens to go on strike. With third-degree burns covering 85 percent of his body, he died in hospital three days later, on 19 January 1969. His funeral turned into a mass demonstration against the Soviet crackdown on the reform movement.

A month later, on 25 February 1969, Jan Zajíc, a student at a technical secondary school in Šumperk, staged a similar protest. He set himself on fire in the entryway of a building on Wenceslas Square, a few dozen metres from the spot where Palach had done so weeks earlier.

Both students became symbols of resistance to the occupation and to the communist regime that followed. In 1989, on the 20th anniversary of Palach's death, the annual commemorations turned into mass anti-communist protests that fed into the momentum leading to the Velvet Revolution later that same year.

Frequently asked questions

Does the memorial mark the exact spot where Palach set himself on fire? Yes, the memorial stands at the spot where Jan Palach doused himself in petrol and set himself alight on 16 January 1969, a few metres from the fountain in front of the National Museum.

Why does the memorial take the shape of a cross? The bronze cross is shaped to resemble charred wood and symbolizes a human figure as a burning torch, a reference to what both students did.

When was the memorial unveiled? It was unveiled on 16 January 2000, exactly on the 31st anniversary of Jan Palach's death.

Is there also a marker for the spot where Jan Zajíc set himself on fire? Jan Zajíc's name and life dates appear on this same memorial, on the left arm of the cross, alongside Jan Palach's.

How do you get to the memorial? It stands at the upper end of Wenceslas Square in Prague, next to the National Museum, close to the Muzeum metro station (lines A and C).