Lennon Wall
The Czechoslovak secret police painted it over with green paint in April 1981. By morning it was covered in political messages again.
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After John Lennon's 1980 assassination, an unknown artist left a single portrait and some lyrics on the stone slab of a former public fountain at Grand Priory Square, Malá Strana. Authorities erased it, stationed overnight guards, and installed cameras. None of it worked. The wall outlasted communist Czechoslovakia and has since inspired similar walls worldwide, including in Hong Kong.
What to look for
- The stone slab foundation of a former public fountain — the exact surface where the original Lennon portrait was painted
- Designs tied to global causes such as global warming, mixed in among the Lennon imagery
- The boundary markers of permitted sections — spray paint is now banned and only designated areas are open to the public
Owned by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta; since 2019 spray painting is prohibited and only certain sections accept new additions — bring a marker, not a can.
Lennon Wall is one of 36 sights worth the detour in Prague, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Prague pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Prague
- Prague CastleThe Guinness-record largest ancient castle on Earth — and the Czech president still works inside it.
- Charles BridgeCzech legend holds that Charles IV chose his construction start time — 5:31am on 9 July 1357 — because the digits form a palindrome he believed would imbue the bridge with additional strength.
- St. Vitus CathedralOne theory holds that the founding duke may have chosen St. Vitus partly because his name echoes a Slavic sun god — making conversion easier for a populace already devoted to the solar deity Svantevit. Christian and pagan communities shared this hilltop until at least the 11th century.
- Dancing HouseTwo interlocked towers shaped like mid-dance partners, built on a Vltava riverfront plot that sat bombed-out and derelict for decades.
- Prague Astronomical ClockEvery hour, a skeleton marks the time — on a clock mechanism that has been running since 1410.
- National Museum in PragueThe building that closes off Wenceslas Square has anchored Czech protests, rallies, and public life since 1891.