Prague can be elegant.
It can don a baroque wig, a Gothic spire, an Art Nouveau ornament, and pretend it has spent its entire life on grand squares. It can be a postcard, a brochure, a romantic weekend, and a classic stroll from the Charles Bridge to Hradčany.
And then there is Žižkov.
A district that doesn’t always want to win you over at first sight. It has steep streets, bars, tenement houses, graffiti, students, dogs, beer, stairs, punk memories, local pubs, and one of the most controversial towers in Europe. It isn’t smooth. It isn’t polished. It doesn’t try to be a second Old Town.
And that is exactly why it is so interesting.
People search for: Žižkov Prague, Prague TV Tower, Žižkov Tower, David Černý’s babies, Vítkov, Jan Žižka, alternative Prague.
They are searching for the right things.
Because Žižkov is Prague, refusing to play nice.
Where does the name Žižkov come from?
The district’s name comes from Jan Žižka of Trocnov, a Hussite commander who defeated the troops of King Sigismund in 1420 near Vítkov Hill. This is one of the most important sites in Czech Hussite memory.
Žižka was a man of war, not of salons. Blind in one eye, and later, according to tradition, completely blind, he still led armies, becoming a symbol of resistance, toughness, and Czech stubbornness.
The district bearing his name shares something of that character.
It wasn’t aristocratic. It wasn’t palatial. For a long time, it was associated with working-class Prague, dense housing, pubs, everyday life, poverty, and a life a bit rougher than in the elegant parts of the city.
This matters.
Žižkov isn’t “pretty” in an easy way. It is distinctive.
And character is often more interesting than beauty.
Vítkov Hill and Prague’s Largest Horse
Looming over the district is Vítkov.
This long hill separates Žižkov from Karlín. From the top, you can see the city broadly: the center, Hradčany, spires, roofs, railways, and districts that the average tourist rarely pieces together into a whole.
At the summit stands the National Memorial on Vítkov Hill and a monumental equestrian statue of Jan Žižka.
VisitCzechia notes that the sculpture weighs 16.5 tons, is 9 meters high and 9.6 meters long, and is one of the largest bronze equestrian statues in the world. It is hard to miss. Žižka sits on his horse like a man who doesn’t ask anyone for permission.
The statue is huge, heavy, and state-like.
Yet the place around it is very alive. People stroll, jog, sit on the grass, look at the panorama, walk from Karlín to Žižkov, take photos, and rest. Monumental history blends with everyday life.
This is one of the best views of Prague if you don’t want to see the city only from classic viewpoints.
From Petřín, Prague is romantic.
From Hradčany, it is ceremonial.
From Letná, it is elegantly urban.
From Vítkov, it is a bit raw, expansive, and real.
The Žižkov TV Tower
And then there is it.
The Žižkovská televizní věž, or Žižkov TV Tower.
Standing 216 meters tall, visible from many points in the city, hated by some, loved by others, and ignored by no one. Built in the 1980s and completed in the early 1990s, it had a reputation for years as an architectural monster jabbed into Prague’s skyline.
And it must be admitted: it doesn’t try to be delicate.
It doesn’t fit with baroque domes. It doesn’t bow to Gothic towers. It doesn’t pretend to be made of stone and legend. It is technical, vertical, strange, futuristic, and a bit cheeky.
But that is exactly why it fits Žižkov.
Because Žižkov is not a district that apologizes for its own appearance.
The tower has an observation deck, a restaurant, and a hotel apartment. You can see Prague from a completely different perspective. Not the romantic view from the bridge, not the royal view from Hradčany, but a panoramic, urban, modern one.
From the top, you see how large Prague is.
And how little you see when you stick only to the center.
David Černý’s Babies
If the tower itself wasn’t strange enough, gigantic babies crawl up its pillars.
These are sculptures by David Černý, one of the most recognizable contemporary Czech artists. Prague City Tourism states that since 2001, there have been a total of 10 such babies on the tower. Each is about 350 cm long and 260 cm high. Their faces are replaced by a kind of code or concave structure, making them both amusing and unsettling.
This is very Czech.
Instead of trying to hide the controversial tower, Prague allowed giant faceless children to climb it.
And suddenly, a building that many considered a brutal intrusion into the skyline became an attraction, a meme, a symbol, and a landmark.
David Černý has a talent for turning national and urban tensions into images that are impossible to forget. In the Lucerna department store, he turns St. Wenceslas’s horse upside down. On the Castle grounds, he places babies. On Žižkov, he makes them crawl up the tower.
This is not just a joke.
It is the way Prague deals with the difficult heritage of modernity: it doesn’t remove it, but adds irony to it.
Žižkov and the Pubs
Žižkov has a reputation as a district of pubs.
It isn’t just about the number of venues, although that has always been impressive. It is about the atmosphere. Here, beer is not solely a tourist product or a prop for a photo. It is part of the district’s daily life.
In Žižkov, working-class, student, artistic, and alternative circles have long mixed. The pub was a place for conversation, escape, neighborhood, rebellion, loneliness, laughter, and dragging out the evening.
Not every pub is beautiful.
Not every one needs to be.
That is the difference between Žižkov and the postcard center. In the center, many places work for the tourist. In Žižkov, you can still find places that work primarily for their own people.
Of course, the district is changing. Gentrification has arrived here too. Prices are rising, venues are being renovated, some of the old atmosphere is disappearing, and new residents and lifestyles are emerging. But Žižkov still has something less polished than Vinohrady and less touristy than the Old Town.
This is Prague, sitting at the table slightly sideways.
Cemeteries Under the Tower
One of Žižkov’s less obvious tensions is the proximity of the TV tower and the cemeteries.
The area is home to the Olsany Cemeteries and the New Jewish Cemetery, where Franz Kafka is buried. This means that one of Prague’s most futuristic structures rises near places of memory, graves, silence, and history.
This juxtaposition is powerful.
The tower looks to the sky.
The cemeteries look into the depths of time.
And between them, people walk to the metro, to work, to school, and on walks with their dogs.
Prague often works this way: it doesn’t separate layers. It places them side by side and lets them comment on each other.
Jiřího z Poděbrad Square
The border between Žižkov and Vinohrady leads us to Jiřího z Poděbrad Square.
This is a more elegant place, but very important for a Žižkov route. Overlooking the square is the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord by Jože Plečnik—monumental yet strangely quiet, with a large clock and a mass that looks like something between a temple, an ark, and an urban sign.
The square lives with markets, cafes, residents, dogs, children, and the metro. It is a good starting point because it shows that alternative Prague doesn’t begin suddenly. It flows smoothly from the elegant Vinohrady into the rougher Žižkov.
The city has no sharp edges.
It has moods.
Is It Worth Visiting Žižkov?
Yes, if you have already seen basic Prague or want to see the less obvious side of the city right away.
Žižkov is not the best first answer to the question “what must I see in Prague in two hours.” For that, the Old Town, Charles Bridge, Hradčany, or classic central routes are better.
But if you want to see Prague as it is lived—local, slightly crooked, with a TV tower, pubs, Vítkov, Hussite history, David Černý, and a panorama unlike any other—Žižkov is excellent.
This is a district for people who don’t need everything to be pretty.
It is enough that it is real.
Briefly for the Impatient
What is Žižkov? Žižkov is a district of Prague located east of the center, known for its TV tower, pubs, Vítkov Hill, alternative atmosphere, and strong local identity.
Where does the name Žižkov come from? From Jan Žižka, the Hussite commander associated with the victory on Vítkov Hill in 1420.
What to see in Žižkov? The Žižkov TV Tower, David Černý’s babies, Vítkov Hill, the National Memorial, the Jan Žižka statue, local bars, the area around Jiřího z Poděbrad Square, and the cemeteries.
Is it worth going up the TV Tower? Yes, if you want to see Prague from a very high, modern viewpoint and look at the city beyond the classic Hradčany panorama.
Is Žižkov far from the center? No. It is a well-connected district by trams and metro, but its atmosphere differs significantly from the strict center.
Is Žižkov good for the evening? Yes, especially if you want to see Prague’s bars, local life, and a less touristy atmosphere.
See Žižkov with a Guide
Žižkov can be explored on your own, but then you might only see the tower, the pubs, and a few steep streets. With a guide, the district begins to unfold as a story: Jan Žižka, Vítkov, working-class Prague, the TV tower, David Černý, cemeteries, local bars, Vinohrady, and urban everyday life that doesn’t need a golden frame.
The route Žižkov Alternative – A Walk Through Rebellious Prague with a Polish guide from CzeskaPraga.pl fits best here. The route description includes Jiřího z Poděbrad Square, the area around the Žižkov TV Tower, the district’s historic squares, and Vítkov Hill with the National Memorial.
If, after Žižkov, you want to go further into the less obvious Prague, a good complement might be Mini-Brewery Trails – Beer Karlín, as Karlín shows another face of contemporary, post-industrial, and culinary Prague.
If you are interested in contemporary art and strange urban interventions, it is worth combining Žižkov with the route Secret Places of Prague – Passages and Hidden Walkways, where you will find, among other things, Lucerna and David Černý’s upside-down horse.
And if you want to start with classic Prague and only then leave the main trail, Prague in a Nutshell remains a good first step. Žižkov works best when you already know what you are escaping from.
Because this is not a district that wants to be the first postcard from Prague.
It is a district that appears later.
And stays longer.
Sources and Further Reading
- Žižkov Alternative — CzeskaPraga.pl
- Statue The Baby — Prague City Tourism
- National Memorial on the Vítkov Hill — VisitCzechia
- Mini-Brewery Trails – Beer Karlín — CzeskaPraga.pl
- Secret Places of Prague – Passages and Hidden Walkways — CzeskaPraga.pl
- Prague in a Nutshell — CzeskaPraga.pl