Stalin Plaza is the base of a former monument dedicated to the communist dictator Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. It is situated on the very top of a park called Letna, which essentially sits at the highest point of Prague, not far removed from the Prague Castle. There is a massive bunker underneath the spot, large walkways, beer gardens, viewpoints, and other public spaces surrounding it.
The statue was built overlooking an impressive view of the entire Old Town district and canals, towering over the city and its people. It was the largest statue of Stalin ever constructed, taking almost six years to make. The head sculptor killed himself just days before the unveiling, which didn’t happen until 1955, two years after Stalin himself died of a stroke.
The statue was finally demolished with explosives in 1962, thus freeing Prague from the oppressive shadow of communism. There now sits a metronome, highlighting Prague’s history of classical music, keeping time, rocking back and forth. Not only above the city, but above the skateboarders too. The locals there have created something pretty special through hard work and dedication. They ripped the stairs out of the surrounding sets and made ledges with them. There are gaps, manual pads, existing ledges of all heights, stairs, wallies, and then a whole lot more of the same, but different, on the next level down. Oh and the ground is kind of perfect too. This spot is insane, and coupled with the view, it has to be one of the best plazas on earth. The scene had a pretty massive scare recently, with the city saying the entire foundation was compromised and dangerous, sending armed guards to patrol the area sun-up to sun-down. They even bulldozed some of the ledges. I went for three days to skate it and ended up only getting one real session that didn’t involve a machine gun held by a Czech officer walking towards me, stone cold silent. The spot is safe for now, but the city is bloodthirsty and wants that view and location for capitalistic gains. And this isn’t just a skate spot. There are thousands of people who come to sit at the view, drink at the beer gardens, have raves and dance parties, enjoy the beautiful sunshine of summer in Prague, and dance liberally on the ashes of communism. This place is fundamental to what makes the city great.
Go there and skate it. Chill with the locals, sit under the metronome at sunset. Buy something at Real Skateshop next to the Hradcanska train stop. (Thanks for the magazine and letting us print our boarding passes!) And most importantly go sign the petition to permanently save Stalin Plaza, you can find it online. Plazas like this are so much more than just skatespots, and deserve to be recognized as such. The more we can save these types of spots on a global scale the more power we get as skateboarders. Respect to Matej, Payo and the rest of the locals.
