Even though I have a guilty pleasure taking in order my trips and writing about them in ascending order of events, sometimes I like moving to the other category that prefers a bit of chaos on their profiles but which brings more diversity that always attracts more curious eyes. Hence why, today's post is about my most recent trip which sums up in almost one week spent in Prague, Czech Republic, that did a great job keeping all my days spent there full of events, things to see, and experiences to enjoy.
One of the places I visited and which I was looking forward to seeing just because I am a nerd when it comes to street art, was the John Lennon Wall which I've seen pictures of shared even on the blockchain. However, a thing that I did notice, is that the wall's aspect changes quite fast, and therefore, if I ever return there one day, no doubt I'll discover a completely different wall than the one I saw one month ago.
I, along with the friends I was sharing this trip with, had the wall part of our itinerary too, but either way, there was no way to avoid it because the GPS would take us through this place on the way to another point of interest in Prague that we had in plan for that day.
But while there were quite a few road signs leading to the wall, there was also a big "NO graffiti & NO love locks" just before reaching it, which I've seen used often in places where people use ruining the walls with their messages and stickers.
Yet a common problem for the Rope Street from Brasov, Romania, that no matter how many times the walls are renovated, it still ends up in the same way.
So while I always come with my heart wide open to discover new places and add them to my book of memories, not for a few times I return disappointed, disgusted, frustrated, and annoyed because of the incredible levels people can reach when it comes to ruin tourist attractions.
The whole set of negative feelings was even more strengthened when I saw this post written by a fellow hiver just a few months ago. The way how quickly this wall was ruined in just a few months is a big warning sign for me that some places should really remain secret and hidden from tourists' eyes because they have the power to destroy everything very fast. Most likely the wall looks even worse now, one month later since my visit, which is really sad.
But what's even sadder, is that I don't think there is any chance to stop these acts of vandalism because even if there is added some sort of barrier in front of the wall to keep people away from it or place some sort of glass in front of it, they would still find new methods to reach the wall or attach their stickers and messages that no one cares about.
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We still tried to enjoy the experience and admire the wall (or what is left of it), so I managed to take some closer shots to the parts of it that weren't entirely covered by people's touch.
Frankly speaking, I was never a John Lennon or The Beatles fan, and in fact, I have no clue if those pieces of art are related somehow to Lennon or just to the freedom that is supposed to be felt through all the pores while standing in front of the wall, but maybe @phortun can give a little help here with some information if he knows.
I know he was looking forward to seeing my articles shared from his beloved Prague so I'm really sorry for picking up this post as the first one from my experience during this trip, but I felt like it needs the most attention because maybe we can change something for the better.
It simply breaks my heart in tiny parts to walk through places like this one which is ruined by people who break the rules with the fake impression that they are cooler than others. In fact, who ever on this earth will stop by to read all the names and stickers left on this wall and start googling them or wonder who was there before his/her visit? Let me tell you: NO ONE!!!
It's true that for a while these actions were allowed in small spaces and with either a pencil or chalk but since people abused of this and started using paint and writing on bigger surfaces that ended up covering entirely the points of interest of the wall, this became not allowed anymore. However, as a tourist, I think it's important to get informed before doing this, but somehow not many share the same thoughts as I do and the results can be clearly seen.
Anyway, back to the wall.
The John Lennon Wall represents the symbol of freedom & energy as it's still mentioned on the wall, and it was turned into representative art of peace and struggle against the communism from the 80s.
While these days the wall enjoys a lot more fame than it used to a while ago, some people cross next to it like they do with any other wall covered in graffiti, tending to forget the history that it's home to, and which gives it a whole new perspective and importance for those who are aware of it.
First of all, Lennon used to be the main hero for the pacifist youth of Central and Eastern Europe who felt his support while listening to his music where some of the songs promoted a freedom that didn't exist in those areas that were still led by the communists. It didn't pass too much time and this turned into having all the songs of John Lennon prohibited by the authorities.
While John Lennon always promoted peace in the world through all his actions, after his death on 8th December 1980, Lennon became the actual symbol of peace for many Czechs who painted his face on the wall along with lyrics from his songs and other messages against politics.
It took 8 years for the wall to get noticed by the communist regime who started a silent fight with those who were writing their discontent on the wall over and over again, no matter how many times the wall was covered and renovated again. This is where the word Lennonism was born because of the movement started by hundreds of students against the authorities.
One year later, the inevitable happened having The Velvet Revolution that led to the fall of communism in the former Czechoslovakia.
John Lennon was born on 9th October 1940 and he was an English singer and author who was part of one of the world's most famous music bands, The Beatles. He died on 8th December 1980 after being four times shot in New York by Mark Chapman who said that he did it for the glory. He literally felt that killing someone famous would bring him popularity and make him important on this planet which resulted in a crazy act of selfishness while taking the life of someone innocent.
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Either way, as you can see in the pictures, these days there are very few messages and drawings that still keep the theme of the wall alive, the face of Lennon not existing anymore and there being more texts with names and things that have nothing to do with freedom and peace rather than the quotes and song lyrics everyone was used with.
For a more accurate experience, right next to the wall, or better said, part of the wall, there is a small gate that will take you to a pub that has a theme entirely dedicated to The Beatles, but also a little shop with goodies under the John Lennon brand.
But of course, as many mixed feelings I've got to have around this wall, I couldn't leave before taking a quick photoshoot to remember about it and perhaps compare the shots with the new ones I'll take one day when revisiting Prague.
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John Lennon Wall is placed in Velkoprevorske Square, fairly close to the property of representatives of the Superior Military Order of Malta and the building that houses the French Embassy.
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT TRIP! 🗾
Gabriela Travels is the FOUNDER of "Festival Mania" who started this community from the passion of attending various festivals and with the purpose of encouraging more people to explore festivals all around the world and share their experiences. At the same time, Gabriela is an independent Graphic Design Freelancer since 2019 completing over 600+ orders in this time and collaborating with various businesses and people from all over the globe. Additonally, Gabriela has her own corner on the internet since 2017 where she writes various articles for her blog, the most popular being the travel ones (260+ articles written on this field), but also abording other topics as well, like game reviews, movie and series reviews, photography posts, cooking recipes and more, boosting the total number of articles written to 550+ blog posts. Gabriela is also a gamer since she was 11 years old and gaming remains one of her biggest passions along with traveling, editing, cooking, and doing various sports activities.
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I had no idea about this wall and about its history… very powerful by the way. It’s nice that people started to feel identify with John Lennon’s message, but it sounds terrible that authorities started to limit the freedom of sharing. That time was so hard, and we still have sometimes this same reality, many years after.
It's been there for a long while, but only became more famous and sort of a symbol for Prague in the last couple of years, if I'm not wrong. But yeah, there have been really rough times and sometimes it feels like we didn't advance even in the 21st century looking on all the madness currently going on..
The Lennon Wall has become a symbol for freedom of expression and resistance against communisim all over the world now. When Hong Kong had the fight for democratic movement back in 2019, Lennon Walls appeared in many neighbourhoods. Then the anti democratic noobheads came to destroy everything the next day. The same happened in Taiwan when I was still out there. There was a Lennon Wall in my city to support Hong Kong, and one night someone came to vandalise it. Luckily they were caught on camera, it was a student from mainland China, and he was fined and deported after that 👍💪
Wow, had no idea about that! Looks like Lennon was heard on many continents out there! Happy to hear that but sad to find out that people still confront with those situations even in the 21st century. Unfortunately, things don't seem like getting on any good path with the passage of time either.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing so valuable information though. Hope you have a lovely day! 🙏🏻
I am just getting to hear about "The John Lennon Wall" Lennon has a great history and was able to speak freedom and peace which is exactly what the world needs right now. It is good to know that the people honoured him and did some beautiful paintings for him but as the world is already is divided, there will always people who are against what you do.
Yes, unfortunately. And I doubt the world will ever enjoy an action without having people divided in two teams. At least, not too soon with all the madness going on, and with a life that seems crazier with each passing day.
Hope you are safe and have a beautiful weekend!
It is sad we are living in such a world.
Yes I am safe, thank you so much for caring. Do have a refreshing weekend ahead too
There's no one's fault but ours. We are the single distructive species alive on this planet... But I do keep my hopes that one way everything will be better. Thank you!
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Wow... It's been an amazing journey for me, I see this wall like a miracle for me, it's so cool.
Thanks
yup, that wall is amazing!!! great captures
Too bad it's half vandalized! But I hope it will be repainted soon and protected a lot better from now on
yes indeed, what there is looks damn good though
A very instragrammable and even very visited place, I was pleased to see it again in your post.
So that's how was looking like under all the written names on the bottom, huh! When you've seen it?
We were here last year in December, we really caught some surprisingly nice weather and of course we had a wonderful time.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
Sounds cool. December is a pretty good period to visit foreign countries in my opinion. Less crowds and a lot more affordable offers. Have a beautiful week too!
You are right, we also choose to visit these countries starting in January and February, they are not crowded, cheap plane tickets and we can photograph ourselves as we want without having to wait minutes for a shot.