JOHN LENNON WALL

John Lennon Wall, Anyone, 1980-1989-Present Day

The “John Lennon Peace Wall” stands in the quite Velkopřevorské náměstí (Grand Priory Square) of Prague’s diplomatic quarter and was a source of irritation for the then communist regime of Gustav Husak.

Following John Lennon’s murder in New York City on December 8th, 1980 young Czechs gathered annually at a graffiti portrait of the Beatle’s member, adding messages of grievance. Lennon was a powerful symbol of non-conformity for young people throughout Communist-ruled Europe.

“Before every anniversary it was the same, the wall was signed with some messages from the people, about freedom, about John Lennon’s thinking, what freedom is, about peace. The people came together; they were saying something about John Lennon’s philosophy, and some people played his songs on the guitar. ” Dr. Miroslav Vanek, an oral historian who himself attended the underground memorials during the '80s.

The wall continuously undergoes change and the original portrait of Lennon is long lost under layers of new paints. Even when the wall was white-washed by authorities, shortly it was again full of messages and flowers despite the risk of harassment and arrest based on their subversive activities against the state as it was deemed by communist secret police.

The wall is owned by the Knights of the Maltese Cross, who allow the graffiti to continue. The potent political messages of the 1980s have become buried under lightweight graffiti, much of it written by western tourists.

“I would like to take my last memory of the wall as a symbol of the young generation who were not satisfied with the conditions the Communist regime brought to the people,” Dr. Vanek.