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Travel: |
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
The "Velvet Revolution"
From November 18 to December 29, 1989 mass strikes and student demonstrations took place in Prague, Bratislava, and elsewhere in Czechoslovakia against the existing communist regime. Instead of watching performances, the theaters (velvet curtains) were filled with people in public discussion. As a result of the consistent mass peaceful protests, the Czechoslovak communist regime was peacefully overthrown. But peace is a delicate and often fleeting state and soon after the fall of the communists, Czechoslovakia underwent another struggle in January 1993, splitting into two independent states: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Today, looking at Prague's strikingly Baroque architecture that harkens to a regal and authoritarian past, it is difficult to conceive a revolution having taken place. However, a closer look shows a youth subculture that is alive and well, seen evidently in the "John Lennon Peace Wall". Some historians claim that Lennon was hailed as the "Velvet Revolution's" pacifist hero, uniting the students and laborers in 1989, allowing the rebirth of the Czech people.
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