Everyone would agree that Wenceslas Square is a Prague’s signature landmark. Many important historical events took place there, the good ones as well as the not-so-good ones. Who else can give us the best authentic outlook on this place than someone, who has been living there for close to 70 years? From her apartment window Vera Korbelova has seen it all: German occupation, burning of Jan Palach (1969), building of a metro station (1972) as well as the horrendous freeway which runs right across the Wencselas square, and of course, the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Now she is 74 years old and this what she says:
“During the last 20 years, Wenceslas Square has changed a lot. It’s not only the promenade, a walking area for the foreigners, but there are funny shops that weren’t there before, there are casinos, which we hate, there isn’t a normal bakery, for instance, and there was a beautiful bakery here at the middle of Wenceslas Square. There are a lot of tourists here, a lot of drug dealers just on the corner here, who we are afraid of. I hope the whole situation will become better. They plan to bring more greenery, they plan to put more trees, and maybe my grandchildren will see in the future, another, more beautiful place. But still, it is the place I am living and I love to live. I think Wenceslas Square is one of the most beautiful places and squares I have seen in my life, and I have seen a lot of them.”
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