# Jan Palach Square
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{{short description|Town square in Prague, Czech Republic}}
thumb|Jan Palach Square
[[Image:Prag rudolfinum.jpg|thumb|[Rudolfinum](/source/Rudolfinum) with statue of [Antonín Dvořák](/source/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k).]]
'''Jan Palach Square''' ({{langx|cs|Náměstí Jana Palacha}}) is a [town square](/source/town_square) in the [Old Town](/source/Old_Town%2C_Prague) of [Prague](/source/Prague). It is located on right bank of the [Vltava River](/source/Vltava) next to the former [Jewish Quarter](/source/Josefov_(Prague)).
==Buildings and structures==
The western side of the square is adjacent to the Vltava River. The [Mánes Bridge](/source/M%C3%A1nes_Bridge) (1911–1916) connects Jan Palach Square to [Malá Strana](/source/Mal%C3%A1_Strana) (Lesser Town) on the opposite bank. This side of the square also offers a good view of [Prague Castle](/source/Prague_Castle), [Petřín Hill](/source/Pet%C5%99%C3%ADn) and [Charles Bridge](/source/Charles_Bridge). On the north there is the [Neo-Renaissance](/source/Neo-Renaissance) [Rudolfinum Concert Hall](/source/Rudolfinum) (1876–1884). The building on the eastern side (1924–1930) houses the Faculty of Arts (Czech: ''Filozofická fakulta'') of [Charles University](/source/Charles_University_in_Prague), and the building on the southern side (1885) belongs to the [Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design](/source/Academy_of_Arts%2C_Architecture_and_Design_in_Prague) (Czech: ''Vysoká škola umělecko-průmyslová'').[{{cite news |title=Jan Palach Square - Details |url=https://www.prague.eu/en/object/places/2033/jan-palach-square-namesti-jana-palacha |publisher=Prague.eu}}]
There is a large underground [parking garage](/source/Multi-storey_car_park) under the square, with surface structures of this facility slightly disturbing the overall impression of the square.[[http://www.tydenika2.cz/archiv/2006/12/verejne-prostory-prahy Veřejné prostory Prahy | č. 12 | 2006 | archiv - A2 kulturní týdeník] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927220038/http://www.tydenika2.cz/archiv/2006/12/verejne-prostory-prahy |date=2007-09-27 }}] Monuments to two personalities of Czech culture are situated here—a statue of composer [Antonín Dvořák](/source/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k) in front of Rudolfinum and a statue of painter [Josef Mánes](/source/Josef_M%C3%A1nes) closer to the river.
== History and names of the square==
The previous name of the square, used through the communist era, was the ''Square of Red Army Soldiers'' (''Náměstí Krasnoarmějců'') from the year 1948, commemorating [Soviet](/source/Soviet_Union) soldiers killed during their [liberation of Prague](/source/Prague_Uprising) in May 1945. The place however had many names through the history, as it was an important intersection since [middle ages](/source/Middle_Ages) when there was an entrance to the main [ford](/source/Ford_(crossing)) connecting both sides of the river and thus both parts of the city.[{{cite news |last1=Kožíšek |first1=Jakub |title=Brod, rejdiště, hrob. Náměstí Jana Palacha v proměnách staletí [Ford, riding place, grave site. Jan Palach Square in the changes of the centuries] |url=https://magazin.ceskafilharmonie.cz/brod-rejdiste-hrob-namesti-jana-palacha-v-promenach-staleti/ |access-date=26 December 2023 |work=Magazín České filharmonie |issue=1/2022 |publisher=[Česká filharmonie](/source/%C4%8Cesk%C3%A1_filharmonie) |date=5 January 2022 |language=Czech}}]
In the [late modern period](/source/late_modern_period) the place was known as ''Rejdiště'' after [riding hall](/source/riding_hall) standing in the place. But when a new prominent building of [Rudolfinum Concert Hall](/source/Rudolfinum) was constructed and the square got its shape, it was also named after the [Crown Prince Rudolf](/source/Rudolf%2C_Crown_Prince_of_Austria). During the [World War I](/source/World_War_I) it was renamed ''Empress Zita Square'' in honour of the new (and the last) [Empress of Austria](/source/List_of_Austrian_consorts). Because of the Concert Hall, the place was renamed to ''Bedřich Smetana Square'' in honour of the famous Czech composer [Bedřich Smetana](/source/Bed%C5%99ich_Smetana), after the proclamation of [Czechoslovak Republic](/source/First_Czechoslovak_Republic) in 1918 and later to ''Mozartplatz'' in honour of the German composer [W. A. Mozart](/source/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart) during the [time of German occupation](/source/Occupation_of_Czechoslovakia_(1938%E2%80%931945)). In May 1945, fallen soldiers of the [Red Army](/source/Red_Army) were provisionally buried on the square, which was named again ''Bedřich Smetana Square'', but was renamed to ''Square of Red Army Soldiers'' only few years later.