January 16th of this year marks the 55th anniversary of Jan Palach's self-sacrifice. In cooperation with SmartGuide, the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century has prepared another walk in the mobile app of the same name to mark this anniversary. The walk is divided into three parts, the first of which describes the events of a few hours on 16 January 1969, from the arrival of Jan Palach from Všetaty to his act on Wenceslas Square. The second part presents the places of his birth and death, which are located in the Prague 2 district. The third section concerns places connected with Jan Palach's studies at the Faculty of Arts, his funeral and the self-immolation of Jan Zajíc. The last place is the grave of Jan Palach at Olšanské cemetery. The app will take you to places such as the canteen of Charles University, to the site of the former railway station in Těšnov, to the former gas station in Opletalova Street, to the former Borůvka sanatorium in Legerova Street, or to Wenceslas Square to the site of another self-immolation - the living torch of Jan Zajíc. The guide for the whole route is historian Petr Blažek.
On 16 January 1969, Jan Palach, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy of Charles University, set himself on fire on Wenceslas Square. His shocking act was intended to rouse the public from the resignation into which Czechoslovak society was sinking five months after the August occupation. During the historical walk Jan Palach and Prague Places of Memory you will visit important places in the Czech capital connected with this tragic event. We can reflect on Palach's self-sacrifice with the help of historical texts, contemporary photographs and archival documents. The large street demonstrations in the centre of Prague in January 1989, known as Palach Week, will also be commemorated.
