On This Day in 1883: Franz Kafka Was Born in Prague

This year we commemorate the 140th anniversary of the birth of Franz Kafka, a Jewish writer who was born in Prague.

Want to know some interesting facts about his life and the places where he drew his creative energy? As you visit them, you’ll understand why he said that for anyone who sets eyes on her, Prague will never let them go.

Franz Kafka known and unknown

His timeless work has made Franz Kafka famous all over the world. He was born on 3 July 1883 in Prague, the city he spent his whole life in and loved dearly. The city and its atmosphere inspired him, and you can still find traces of Franz Kafka in many of its places.

During his lifetime he was mostly overlooked by the art world and did not make a living as a writer. He even begged one of his friends to burn all his manuscripts.

Fortunately, he didn’t listen, so we can still take a peek into his fantastic world and dark moods to this day. His literary legacy outlived him; he became far more famous after his death than during his lifetime.

Places imbued with the spirit of Franz Kafka

A walk around the places that Franz Kafka used to visit is an unforgettable experience, not only for admirers of his work. Kafka, who was a practising Jew, often used to visit the Old-New Synagogue, loved walking across Charles Bridge, and felt an inextricable affinity for the Clementinum, where he attended lectures and went to the library as a student.

He and his parents lived right next to the Old Town Hall, from where it was a short walk to the grammar school, situated in what is now the Kinsky Palace, today home to the National Gallery.

From time to time, Kafka and his friends would also go for a coffee at the Café Savoy near Petřín or to the Café Louvre by the National Theatre. The atmosphere in these two historical cafés has been preserved over the ages and will whisk you back a hundred years into the past.

Monument to Franz Kafka by sculptor Jaroslav Róna, Dušní street in Jewish Quarter

Where to follow in Kafka’s footsteps today?

You could visit the Franz Kafka Museum in Prague, where you can see some of the personal effects of this literary genius.  This remarkable exhibition was created as the third in a series of exhibitions on the cities of world-class writers, after James Joyce’s Dublin and Fernando Pessoa’s Lisbon.

You’ll find it in the Herget Brickworks in Malá Strana, just a few steps from Charles Bridge. The museum includes a shop offering the full range of Kafka’s work and biographies. And don’t forget to visit the Quadrio shopping centre by the National Theatre, where you’ll find an imposing sculpture of Franz Kafka’s head by artist David Černý.

Another great exhibition that draws on Kafka’s works is on display at the Aleš South Bohemian Gallery in Hluboká nad Vltavou. It is called Metamorphoses and is dedicated to the work of Swiss artist HR Giger, the painter, sculptor and designer best known as the creator of the art style known as biomechanical surrealism and the movie monster Alien.

HR Giger was a huge fan of the Czech-German literary scene and, besides Kafka, was fascinated by the magical world of Gustav Meyrink.