John Lennon Wall, Prague

Though John Lennon never stepped foot in Czechoslovakia, his voice, his message of peace, and his belief in the power of imagination managed to reach across borders—and through concrete. After his tragic death in 1980, an anonymous artist painted his portrait on a wall near the French Embassy in Prague, along with lyrics from Beatles songs. It was a bold act of defiance, carried out under a regime that viewed any expression of Western ideals as dangerous subversion.

What began as a quiet tribute quickly became something much more. The wall turned into a living symbol of resistance, where young people scrawled lyrics, poems, and messages of hope—despite knowing that authorities would rush to whitewash them, again and again. But each time the wall was scrubbed clean, it came back to life overnight, as if the voices of the people simply refused to be silenced.

By 1988, the wall had become a flashpoint. Czech students gathered there to protest the regime, leading to direct confrontations with the security forces. The government tried to dismiss the movement by mocking it, calling the protestors “Lennonists”, accusing them of drunken rebellion and labeling them tools of Western propaganda. But the label backfired. Lennonism stuck around as a symbol of peaceful resistance and youthful courage.

In 2014, the wall took another turn when a group of local art students painted it entirely white, declaring “The Wall is Over.” Rather than ending its story, they invited a new generation to add their own voices. The blank slate was quickly filled again, and in 2019, on the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, iconic Beatles imagery was restored.

While spray painting is no longer allowed due to preservation efforts, visitors are still welcome to leave their mark using chalk, markers, or pencil. One way or another, the wall continues to speak—and to listen.