Žižkov, The (Red) Heart of Prague
From the noisy and crowded Wenceslas Square, proceeding Northeast for a couple of stops on tram n°9, you will find yourself catapulted into another reality, where the previous streets full of tourists, give way to the typical sounds, sensations, smells and aromas of the neighbourhood. Žižkov, whose main area today lies in the Municipal District of Prague 3 – but which was actually an independent town until the 1920s – got its name from the Hussite leader Jan Žižka from Trocnov in 1877, a Czech general and hero of the civil war in Bohemia, whose historical and legendary figure is inextricably linked to Czech national consciousness. The neighbourhood stands at the foot of Vítkov hill, a place in which Žižka, loyal to the ideals of Jan Hus, achieved a major military victory over the army of Emperor Sigismund in 1420, against a bigger army, made up of thousands of more soldiers, compared to those of the Hussite rebels. On the hilltop, the stronghold of the Žižka Hussites, there is an imposing equestrian statue of the great leader (one among the biggest in the world), built by Bohumil Kafka in 1950, which represents him as a warrior. Historically, Žižkov has always...
Subscribe for our daily news 
