Lennon Wall, Prague

The 'Lennon Wall' is worth seeking out, if only for its sociological and cultural import. Tucked away in Mala Strana, it is the garden wall of the Grand Priory of the Maltese Knights. when Lennon was murdered, it became a sort of shrine to hs memory. Graffiti was regularly removed, and replaced, but it now seems to have become tolerated if not openly accepted. Perhaps its value as a tourist sight has been recognised, or perhaps the authorities have realised there is little point in pursuing the matter.

It's on Velkoprevorske Namesti.

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The wall holds messages of peace, freedom and hope. People started writing messages in graffiti when the nation was still under communist rule. The wall was repainted several times by the authorities but this didn’t stop the graffiti reappearing.

This wall is close to Kampa park at Velkoprevorske namesti. It`s named after John Lennon because there used to be large graffiti of this famous singer. But the wall is living - it`s in permanent change and the Lennon picture is gonne. But people are writing there their ideas, wishes and thoughts for more than 30 years. This wall is symbol of freedom and at every special occasion people are burning candles there.

We walked past the Lennon wall when we were in Prague in March '06 and thought we would have to see it again but we were surprised to see this bust of John Lennon fixed to the wall a little further down from where the mural is on our return in December '06.

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The Lennon Wall is not actually that far off the beaten path - it is a handy detour to/from the castle from the old town. John Lennon never came here (as far as I know!) but the wall is called the Lennon wall because originally Beatles lyrics seemed to dominate the graffiti that covered the wall. It became a monument towards free speech - in communist times the wall became the soapbox of the repressed people of Prague and people risked arrest and imprisonment to get their message across. Nowadays the graffiti has gone down hill - it is in the "Pedro e Giulia 24/01/2005" league and the usual nationalist statements about ethnic minorities. Worth a brief look but not worth a special trip.

The Lennon Wall was formerly an ordinary wall in Prague, but since the 1980's people have filled it with John-Lennon inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from The Beatles songs. It is owned by the Knights of the Maltese Cross.

Click on the link below to read the history of the wall....

The John Lennon Wall
I'm not sure how off-the-beaten track this really is, but we were certainly the only people around when we stumbled across it on a Monday morning.
John Lennon was a folk hero in Communist Czechoslovakia, and the wall grew to fame in the 80s. Apparently it's still a meeting place for fans on the anniversary of his death.
It's opposite the French Embassy in a beautiful tree-lined square, just next to Kampa Island.

If you're a fan of Lennon don't miss this mural / graffiti dedicated only to this 'legend'. You cant miss it if you follow these instructions. When passing from Charles Bridge, lookiing south you'll see that the Vltava river splits into a stream which is called "The devil's stream". Just before the foot of the next small bridge (100 metres down from Charles Bridge) there's a water Mill. The graffitti are just round the corner on the walls of 'The grand Priory of the Knights of Malta' Be aware that not all written messages hail John Lennon. You might be offended with some of them.