Where to see the Franz Kafka Memorial statue in Prague

Franz Kafka He is a prestigious, world-famous Czech writer who has become an icon of the city.

And although lately the statue of his head has become really famous, it is not the only monument in the city created to remember his figure.

During your trip to Prague, In the Czech Republic, it is very likely that you have planned to visit the statue of Franz Kafka, but you have to keep in mind that there are several monuments.

If you are looking for information and you are confused, it is probably precisely because of that.

For many years and until the creation of the monument of the Kafka head, the most famous memorial to the writer's figure was the one located in the Jewish quarter.

But due to the spectacular nature of the head, the historic memorial has been losing popularity.

In our opinion you have to visit both because they are also in different parts of the city.

We are going to explain to you what each memorial is and what you need to know about them.

Kafka sculpture in Prague

When you visit the Josefov Jewish Quarter, you will be surprised to see a sculpture with a modern and very curious design.

This sculpture shows us an empty body of a man, only wearing a jacket and pants, on whose shoulders the figure of another man appears sitting.

With this sculpture the artist wants to represent the spiritual separation that the Czech writer shows in his works.

This Memorial statue It has been made by the also Czech sculptor, Jaroslav Rona.

Where is it and how to see the statue

This sculptural work is located next to the Spanish Synagogue in the aforementioned Jewish neighborhood of the Czech capital.

Sculpted in bronze, 3,75 meters high and weighing 800 kilos, it was finished by Jaroslav Rona in December 2003, after having been the winner of a competition among the most prestigious Czech artists to make this Memorial.

The statue is located in a place where Franz Kafka lived, but also very emblematic of the city of Prague.

It is the boundary between the districts of the Josefov Jewish Quarter and Old City Stare Mesto, a point at which three religions converge, Jewish, Catholic and Protestant.

Kafka head

The other great memorial of the writer, more modern and spectacular, is the Head of Kafka.

Located in the new city of Prague, it consists of 42 sheets that rotate randomly in 360 degrees, forming and deforming the Writer's head up to 15 times each time it is activated.

This work built by the sculptor David Cerny is made to remember the figure of the writer in his hometown.

It has a height of 11 meters and weighs a whopping 39 tons and is located on the side of the OC Quadrio shopping center in front of the Golden Crown hotel.

We recommend that you arrive a little early to get a seat, especially if you are going to visit during high season and at a time when people are visiting the city.

There are usually no problems seeing it since the statue is very large, as is the square in which it is located.

If you arrive with enough time it is even possible to see him sitting on one of the terraces in the square while you drink a typical Czech beer.

When does Kafka's head sculpture move?

It is important to know that Kafka's head rotation mechanism is not active all the time.

It has fixed schedules in which the head makes its impossible rotations.

The head movement moves twice every hour and lasts for 15 minutes.