Na Příkopě Street goes south to Václvské náměstí (Vaclav Square), a 750-meter-long and 60-meter-wide promenade. It was originally built to serve as a horse market some 600 years ago, under the reign of Charles IV. Since then, it has been a popular gathering spot for artists, organizations, and political parties. It can still easily hold up to 400,000 people. At the top of the boulevard is a statue of St. Vaclav on horseback. A plaque commemorating communist martyrs can be found near the statue. Among them is Jan Palach, a 20-year-old student who set himself on fire in January 1969 to protest the Soviet invasion four months prior. Jan Palach died three days later from burns that covered 85% of his body. 800,000 people came to his funeral. Palach and other regime victims are commemorated at a tiny temple in front of Josef Myslbek's St. Václav statue. Following the collapse of communism in December 1989, Vaclav Havel and Alexander Dubcek greeted their euphoric supporters from the 36th House balcony.
Today Vaclav's Square is alive with the hustle and bustle of traders and shoppers. It really comes alive after dark, when restaurants, cinemas and nightclubs attract crowds of tourists. All the important historical sites are within walking distance of the square: it's worth visiting them one by one. At the northern end of the square is the Neo-Renaissance National Museum. Another important building is the Palac Koruna, a covered shopping arcade built in 1911 with a magnificent glass dome.
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