Cold War Communism Prague with a Local Historian Semiprivate
Description
Embark on a journey through Prague’s captivating history as I guide you through the echoes of its Cold War era. This walking tour takes you back to a time when the city bore the influence of the Communist regime for nearly 50 years. Explore key locations of the Prague Spring and Soviet invasion in 1968, and hear the story of Jan Palach, a protest symbol who sacrificed his life. Visit sites of the Velvet Revolution, which ended Communism in our country and Europe in 1989. As the son of a student leader in the Velvet Revolution, I’ll share personal stories to add an intimate touch. Learn about dissident Vaclav Havel, who became the last president of Czechoslovakia. See the former Communist parliament, brutalist architecture, and landmarks like Wenceslas Square, the National Museum, and the Dancing House. This is not just a tour; it’s an immersive dive into the heart of history.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Wenceslas Square - traces of Cold War - Revolution of 1968 and 1989, different locations in the area
Culture during Communism time, Upside down horse art
Walking by famous Kafka head, Living conditions during Communism Czechoslovakia
1989 Velvet revolution locations
National Theatre, Vaclav Havel story and more Cold War locations, including Secret Police
More locations related to Cold War
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(12)
Extremely knowledgeable guide, as a history teacher I love the commentary. We do enjoyed the tavern stop and beer midway through the tour as the temperatures were warm.
The tour was fantastic, me and my girlfriend really enjoyed it. You can tell the expertise and the knowledge about the city and every single little detail, there really an excitement when talking about their city and as a tourist you really appreciate it. The attention was also incredible, the communication was perfect and we could understand the city in a way that without this view would be impossible. I sincerely recommend this tour if you want to know the city by the hand of a local, and also if you are interested in history
Jiri is an excellent guide with lots of local historical knowledge. He was flexible with giving us a last minute time slot for a tour. Would highly recommend this tour if you are interested in learning more about the communism period in the Czech Republic.
Great tour. Our guide (Hana) was very friendly and insightful, sharing her personal experience under the communist regime in Czechoslovakia and prepared a lot of historical pictures of Nazi and Soviet occupation we could use to compare with the actual sights we visited in the present. On top of that, she showed around other interesting parts of Prague, gave us movie/documentary and other visit recommendations for our trip in Prague. Very great and insightful guide, would absolutely recommend.
I would highly recommend this tour. We covered a lot of ground—from WWI and WWII to the Cold War and changes after the Cold War—while seeing various historical sites related to this history. The perspective also was very grounded in real, personal experiences—making it unique and more memorable.
Jiří is more than just an excellent tour guide. He's a historian with a vast amount of knowledge that he shares throughout a 3-hour tour that goes swiftly because it is so informative. He was able to answer all of our questions, and as a family interested in history those questions were not always basic ones. His English is excellent and he is very likeable. He had spent a lot of time interviewing veterans of several countries to capture their stories and in doing so he is preserving an oral history that is rapidly disappearing. Although he says his expertise is WWII history, he seemed equally knowledgeable about Prague's Cold War era. I highly recommend Jiří as a tour guide!
Jiri is a great tour guide! He spoke English perfectly and has a friendly demeanor. He peppers his tour with his research and family’s experience. I visited Prague in 1990 just after the Velvet Revolution and Jiri brought life back to my memories. As a history teacher and researcher, I highly recommend this tour.
Hana was an experienced guide, sincere in her desire to provide us with a great experience. She lived through much of the period that interested us which gave her a perspective that we might not have had with a younger guide. She also took us to parts of the city we would have never found on her own and discussed art, modern politics and non communist related history such as the heroism of the heroic Czechs who attacked the Nazis who had occupied Prague. She shared several Hollywood interpretations of these and other events which I l look forward to watching. My one concern is that we started the tour in Wenceslas Square which is incredibly noisy because of construction and also because of endless fire trucks , police sirens etc, so we missed a lot of what she said for the first ten minutes Maybe it would be better to start the tour in a quiet care down the street.
Great tour. Hugely informative and moving. Putting a personal slant in history. Good value and friendly guide
He was incredible. His knowledge was vast and is passion for history infectious. We did a few tours with him. Very personable, he went at the right pace.
