Prague begins planning permanent memorial to Charles University victims

Prague has begun preparing a permanent memorial in Jan Palach Square to honor the victims of the Dec. 21, 2023, shooting at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts.

City councilors approved the creation of a working group on Oct. 5 to develop the brief for a future architectural and artistic competition, the city announced. Bereaved families, injured survivors and others directly affected by the attack will be involved in the preparations.

The shooting claimed 14 lives and injured 25 people. A temporary memorial was installed in the square six months later, as Expats.cz previously reported. The new initiative seeks a lasting place of remembrance, but the city has not yet approved launching a design competition.

The working group will bring together representatives of Charles University’s rector’s office, the Faculty of Arts, the Spojeni nadějí association, Prague’s Institute of Planning and Development, City Hall and Prague City Gallery.

The city said participation by people directly affected by the tragedy would respect their privacy, dignity, individual circumstances and wishes.

The group’s first task is to consider what the memorial should communicate and how it should relate to the faculty building and surrounding square. Its brief will also address accessibility, safety, maintenance and long-term sustainability.

Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček, responsible for urban and strategic development, described the group as nonpolitical and emphasized that public artwork can take many forms. The city’s announcement leaves the eventual design open.

Culture Councilor Tomáš Slabihoudek said the memorial should provide a dignified space for remembrance while respecting the square’s character, historical context and commemorative significance.

Prague is also preparing a reconstruction of Jan Palach Square. The memorial will therefore need to be considered alongside the broader redesign and the area’s architectural and heritage value.

The competition brief will be discussed with Prague 1, the public transport operator DPP, the team preparing the square’s reconstruction, heritage specialists and other relevant institutions.

A central question will be how to treat the existing memorial. The city said future proposals must approach it sensitively, respecting the circumstances in which it was created and its importance to people who use it as a place of remembrance.

Establishing the working group is an initial planning step. Prague will decide whether to proceed with a competition only after the brief has been prepared and discussed, and property, technical and heritage conditions have been examined.

The announcement gives no construction timetable or budget. For now, the next stage concerns developing the memorial’s purpose and requirements rather than selecting a finished design.