heritagemonumental

Charles Square and the Heydrich crypt

Prague's largest square, the hall of the first defenestration, and the crypt where the parachutists made their last stand.

Photo: Ludek / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Drafted by Claude — the editor hasn’t walked this one yet. We’ll update this notice once it’s been verified on the ground.

Distance

2.7 km

Time

~ 75 min

Difficulty

Easy

Start

Karlovo náměstí (metro B)

End

Karlovo náměstí (metro B)

Best at

morning

Right now

26°C· Partly cloudy

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

The New Town's solemn heart, walked in a morning. Karlovo náměstí is one of the largest squares in the world and now mostly a calm park, but the streets around it hold two of the hardest stories in the city: a medieval revolt and a wartime last stand.

Start with a loop of the náměstí under the plane trees. At the north end is the New Town Hall, where in 1419 a Hussite crowd threw the councillors from the windows — the first Prague defenestration, and the war it began. South, the red Faust House trails its alchemy legend.

The centre of the walk is on Resslova. The Orthodox Church of SS Cyril and Methodius hid the parachutists who assassinated Heydrich in 1942; cornered in the crypt, they died here. The National Memorial below is quiet and exact, the bullet scars by the street-level window left as they were. It's open every day but Monday. Walk it slowly.

Then Emmaus, the 1347 abbey whose bombed towers were rebuilt in 1945 as two soaring concrete spires — a scar turned into something beautiful. Back across the square to the metro, and somewhere quiet after.

The route

On the map.

A soft dashed line, numbered stops. It’s a suggestion, not a turn-by-turn.

Elevation

↑ 73 m·↓ 63 m·192–226 m ASL

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

01
1
Karlovo náměstí (the park)
One of the largest squares in the world, but now mostly a quiet park of plane trees and lawns — *náměstí* in name, garden in fact. Start with a slow loop; the scale only registers when you try to cross it.
01
Karlovo náměstí (the park)
One of the largest squares in the world, but now mostly a quiet park of plane trees and lawns — *náměstí* in name, garden in fact. Start with a slow loop; the scale only registers when you try to cross it.
02
2
New Town Hall (Novoměstská radnice)
At the north end, the hall where in 1419 a crowd threw the councillors from the windows — the first Prague defenestration, the spark of the Hussite wars. Climb the tower if it's open for the view down the square.
02
New Town Hall (Novoměstská radnice)
At the north end, the hall where in 1419 a crowd threw the councillors from the windows — the first Prague defenestration, the spark of the Hussite wars. Climb the tower if it's open for the view down the square.
03
3
Faust House (Faustův dům)
At the square's south-east corner, a red baroque house wrapped in alchemy legend — the one where Faust is said to have struck his bargain. It's a university building now; the stories are the draw, not the door.
03
Faust House (Faustův dům)
At the square's south-east corner, a red baroque house wrapped in alchemy legend — the one where Faust is said to have struck his bargain. It's a university building now; the stories are the draw, not the door.
04
4
Church of SS Cyril and Methodius — the National Memorial
On *Resslova*, the Orthodox church whose crypt sheltered the parachutists who killed Reinhard Heydrich in 1942. Surrounded and out of ammunition, they died here rather than surrender. The memorial in the crypt is sober and quiet; the bullet scars on the street-level wall are still there. Open daily except Monday — go slowly, and read.
04
Church of SS Cyril and Methodius — the National Memorial
On *Resslova*, the Orthodox church whose crypt sheltered the parachutists who killed Reinhard Heydrich in 1942. Surrounded and out of ammunition, they died here rather than surrender. The memorial in the crypt is sober and quiet; the bullet scars on the street-level wall are still there. Open daily except Monday — go slowly, and read.
05
5
Emmaus Monastery (Emauzy)
South to the *Emauzy* abbey, founded 1347, its medieval church given a pair of swooping reinforced-concrete spires after a 1945 air raid took the old towers. The Gothic cloister frescoes inside survived. The modern spires read as a scar made beautiful.
05
Emmaus Monastery (Emauzy)
South to the *Emauzy* abbey, founded 1347, its medieval church given a pair of swooping reinforced-concrete spires after a 1945 air raid took the old towers. The Gothic cloister frescoes inside survived. The modern spires read as a scar made beautiful.
06
6
Back across the square
Return up the eastern side of the park, past the baroque *Kostel sv. Ignáce*, to the metro where you started. A short walk, but a heavy one — give it the morning, and give yourself somewhere quiet after.
06
Back across the square
Return up the eastern side of the park, past the baroque *Kostel sv. Ignáce*, to the metro where you started. A short walk, but a heavy one — give it the morning, and give yourself somewhere quiet after.

Charles Square and the Heydrich crypt

On the map.

Things to notice.

Karlovo náměstí (the park)

Karlovo náměstí (the park)

New Town Hall (Novoměstská radnice)

New Town Hall (Novoměstská radnice)

Faust House (Faustův dům)

Faust House (Faustův dům)

Church of SS Cyril and Methodius — the National Memorial

Church of SS Cyril and Methodius — the National Memorial

Emmaus Monastery (Emauzy)

Emmaus Monastery (Emauzy)

Back across the square

Back across the square

Two more, on similar days.

Josefov: the Jewish Quarter, told straight

Old Town Square: the clock, the spires, the crush before it arrives