Kafka's Prague Small Group Tour

We enter the world of Franz Kafka, an important writer of the 20th century and a famous Prague native, at the place where he was born in 1883. The house where Franz Kafka was born has long since been demolished, but Kafka's birth is commemorated by a RELIEF by KAREL HLADIK on the façade of No. 3. This is where we will start our tour.

Kafka spent part of his childhood in the HOUSE AT THE MINUTE in the Old Town and experienced many formative events that influenced his life and writing. It was here that he first went to school and where his sisters were born. ..... The Renaissance sgraffito on the façade of the house and the stone lion symbol are distinctive features of the house.

It was in the HOUSE OF THE THREE KING in Celetná Street that Franz Kafka first had his own room with a desk, where he made his first literary attempts. It was here that he lived during his adolescence, here that he lived as a student at the nearby university, here that he experienced his first sexual adventures, but also the tumultuous national riots between Czechs and Germans.

At the end of the 19th century, the KINSKY PALACE housed the K. K. STATE GERMAN LANGUAGE SECONDARY SCHOOL IN PRAGUE, where Franz Kafka was a student and received his school-leaving certificate. Interestingly, the Kinský Palace was also for a time the seat of a shop run by his father, Hermann Kafka.

The Art Nouveau apartment house AT THE GOLDEN PIKE was built in 1914 and Franz Kafka moved in a year later to spend almost 2 years there.

The STATUE, inspired by Kafka's short story "A Description of a Struggle" and referring to the famous "Metamorphosis", is the work of sculptor JAROSLAV RONA and is one of the most famous monuments to Franz Kafka today.

It was in the HOUSE OF THE SHIP that Kafka wrote his most famous short story, "Metamorphosis".

At the time of Kafka's childhood and youth, the site of the former Jewish quarter, the Jewish ghetto if you like, was undergoing a fundamental transformation. The old houses of the poor were being demolished and replaced by new luxury apartment blocks. Only a few buildings remain from the original ghetto, including the famous Gothic OLD NEW SYNAGOGUE. Here you will learn more about Kafka's relationship with Judaism.

Franz Kafka's last address in Prague was the OPPELT HOUSE on Old Town Square, where he lived in the care of his parents at the time of his advanced lung disease, shortly before his death.

Franz Kafka, a student of the German KARL-FERDINAND UNIVERSITY, received his doctorate in law in the CAROLINUM built in the mid-14th century. It will be an opportunity for us to hear more about his university studies.

Kafka spent part of his compulsory legal clerkship at the STATE CIVIL COURT building during his university studies. The building's endless corridors, waiting rooms and courtrooms are said to have inspired Kafka when he wrote The Trial.

Our tour will take us from the Old Town to the New Town of Prague. We will stop at the building of the former WORKERS' INSURANCE COMPANY FOR THE KINGDOM OF BOHEMIA, where Kafka worked until he was forced to retire for health reasons.

One of Kafka's favourite places in Prague was the CAFE ARCO, which played an important role in the cultural life of the time.

Currently, the most famous memorial dedicated to Franz Kafka is a mechanical ROTATING STATUE depicting his head, the work of sculptor DAVID ČERNÝ.

Another important place in the cultural life of the time was CAFE LOUVRE, which has retained much of its original atmosphere to this day. We will stay a little longer at this stop. During a short sitting in the café, we'll have a drink before the finale of our tour. The price of your drink is already included in the tour price.