Lennon Wall

Located in a secluded square across from the French Embassy, the wall had love poems and short messages against the communist Czechoslovak government since the 1960s, but the first message connected to John Lennon was painted following the 1980 assassination of Lennon, when an unknown artist painted a single image of the singer-songwriter and some lyrics onto a stone slab foundation of a former public fountain. Following this, a small memorial was created with candles, flowers, photographs and newspaper clippings talking about the murder. Western media was banned in the country at the time, therefore the image and memorial was seen by the authorities as representative of western culture and political resistance, thus in April 1981 it was painted over with green paint and removed by the Czechoslovak secret police who saw it as a protest against the government. The day after the wall was repainted it was filled with political messages, such as "Palach would cry", and poems once again. The wall would be repainted and re-graffiti-ed after that, with cameras and over-night guards being stationed at the wall to prevent further attempts, but this was ultimately fruitless as the wall would always end up being marked anyway.{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/pragues-famous-john-lennon-wall-it-over-or-just-reborn-180953415/|title=Prague's Famous John Lennon Wall: Is It Over, or Reborn? |website=Smithsonian.com |access-date=3 October 2018}}{{Cite web |title=Pamětní místa na komunistický režim |url=http://www.pametnimista.usd.cas.cz/praha-1-lennonova-zed/ |access-date=16 October 2024|language=cs}}{{Cite book |last1=Blažek |first1=Petr |title=Lennonova zeď v Praze: neformální shromáždění mládeže na Kampě 1980 - 1989 |last2=Laube |first2=Roman |last3=Pospíšil |first3=Filip |date=2003 |publisher=Ústav pro Soudobé Dějiny AV ČR |isbn=978-80-7285-032-7 |location=Prague}}

In 1988, the wall was a source of irritation for Gustáv Husák's Marxist–Leninist government. Following a short-lived era of democratization and political liberalization known as the Prague Spring, the newly installed communist government dismantled the reforms, inspiring anger and resistance. Young Czechs wrote their grievances on the wall and, according to a report of the time,{{Which|date=October 2024}} this led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the nearby Charles Bridge. The liberalization movement these students followed was described as Lennonism (not to be confused with Leninism), and Czech authorities described participants variously as alcoholic, mentally deranged, sociopathic, and agents of Western free market capitalism.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

After the fall of the iron curtain and replacement of the communist government the wall continuously underwent change and the original portrait of Lennon was long lost under layers of new paint and graffiti.

On 17 November 2014, the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, a group of art students called Prážská Služba repainted the wall to white leaving a single line of black text, “wall is over”{{sic}}.{{Cite web |date=2019-11-07 |title=Z Lennonovy zdi je nově venkovní galerie. Vévodí jí ikonický portrét zpěváka The Beatles |url=https://www.irozhlas.cz/zpravy-domov/lennonova-zed-praha-1-aktualne-2019-premalovani_1911071931_ako|website=Czech Radio|access-date=18 October 2024|language=cs}}{{Cite web |last=Bureš |first=Vítězslav |date=18 November 2024|title=Studenti přetřeli Lennonovu zeď na bílo, majiteli se později omluvili |url=https://www.idnes.cz/nastaveni-souhlasu?url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.idnes.cz%2fpraha%2fzpravy%2flennonova-zed-na-kampe-byla-kompletne-pretrena-na-bilo.A141118_115348_praha-zpravy_bur|website=Mladá fronta Dnes|publisher=Mafra|access-date=18 October 2024|language=cs}} The Knights of Malta initially filed a criminal complaint for vandalism against the students, which they later retracted after contacting them.{{cite web|title=Wall Is Over! Lennonovu zeď v Praze přetřeli na bílo|url=http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/regiony/292765-wall-is-over-lennonovu-zed-v-praze-pretreli-na-bilo/|language=cs|trans-title=Wall is Over! Lennon Wall in Prague painted over in white|website=Czech Television|access-date=18 November 2014}}

On 22 April 2019, Earth Day, the environmentalist group Extinction Rebellion repainted the wall as a demand for the Czech government to act on climate change. The wall was almost entirely painted white, with the unpainted parts of the wall reading in large, negative space, block print letters Klimatická Nouze ({{Lit|Climate Emergency}}). Members of the public were encouraged to add their messages, resulting in calls for action painted in several languages. A large image of a skull was also painted. The repaint was carried out in a manner which allowed some of the existing artwork to be included on the new wall.{{cite web |title=Extinction Rebellion: Update #7 – To Parliament, and Beyond |url=https://rebellion.earth/2019/04/25/update-7-to-parliament-and-beyond/ |website=Extinction Rebellion |date=24 April 2019 |access-date=11 July 2019}}

In July 2019, artists painted a memorial on the wall for Hong Kong democracy activist Marco Leung Ling-kit, who became known as a martyr and a symbol of hope for the 2019 anti-extradition bill protest movement.{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5607742/hong-kong-protester-dies-anti-extradition/|title=A Hong Kong Extradition Protester Who Fell to His Death Is Being Hailed as a 'Martyr'|date=15 June 2019|magazine=Time|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617121634/https://time.com/5607742/hong-kong-protester-dies-anti-extradition/|archive-date=17 June 2019|issn=0040-781X|oclc=1311479}} The image on the wall depicts the yellow raincoat he was wearing during the banner drop that eventually led to a fall from the building, along with some words of solidarity: “Hong Kong, Add oil.”{{cite web |title=Marco Leung Memorial Art @ Lennon Wall in Prague |url=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_PWvEPUEAAfIZN.jpg |website=Twitter CDN |access-date=12 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712034111/https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_PWvEPUEAAfIZN.jpg |archive-date=12 July 2019 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|first=Phoenix|last=Un|title=Imagine that – 'support HK' messages on Prague wall |url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=209751 |website=The Standard |access-date=18 July 2019}}

In October 2019, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the administrative district of Prague 1 started a reconstruction of the Lennon Wall. A representative of the Order of Malta, Johannes Lobkowicz, in regards to why the wall would be renovated, said "Our goal was to stop the wall from being a cheap tourist attraction, where anyone could draw nonsense or vulgarisms. It wasn't a dignified state [for the wall]". Under the direction of Czech designer Pavel Šťastný over 30 Czech and foreign professional artists painted the wall with new designs. During the renovation a central piece made of reflective metal with a black outline of John Lennon was also installed. The wall opened to the public on the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, 7 November 2019, as an open-air gallery with new rules - busking and spraying was banned, marking the wall was now only allowed in the designated white zones and in impermanent materials e.g. pencils, markers, or chalk. Police and cameras were stationed at the wall to deter further spray painting and rule breaking.{{Cite web|url=https://news.expats.cz/weekly-czech-news/pragues-john-lennon-wall-opens-with-new-murals-and-new-rules/|title=Prague's John Lennon Wall opens with new murals and new rules|last=Johnston|first=Raymond|date=8 November 2019|website=Expats.cz|access-date=14 November 2019}}{{Cite news|first=Michael|last=Bereň|date=4 October 2019 |title=Lennonova zeď dostane novou podobu. Vznikne tu venkovní galerie? |url=https://prazsky.denik.cz/zpravy_region/lennonova-zed-nova-podoba-venkovni-galerie-listopadu-vyroci-revoluce20191004.html |newspaper=Pražský Deník}}{{Cite news |last=Tait |first=Robert |date=4 August 2019 |title=Imagine no graffiti: new regulation to fall on Prague's Lennon wall |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/04/imagine-no-graffiti-new-regulation-to-fall-on-pragues-lennon-wall |access-date=4 August 2019 |newspaper=The Guardian|issn=0261-3077}}

At the same time as the wall was being renovated the wall was also declared a memorial site, this being the first time the wall was given an officially recognized status as an important landmark.{{Cite web |title=Pamětní místa na komunistický režim |url=http://www.pametnimista.usd.cas.cz/praha-1-lennonova-zed/|website=pametnimista|access-date=18 October 2024|language=cs}}

In July 2021, a new museum about the history of the Lennon Wall, the Lennon Wall Story, was opened on Prokopská Street 8. The museum features varying objects related to the wall, such as photos, historic objects and Beatles memorabilia.{{Cite web |date=5 August 2021|title=Prague's Lennon Wall gets its own museum |url=https://english.radio.cz/pragues-lennon-wall-gets-its-own-museum-8724970 |access-date=23 June 2022|website=Radio Prague International}}

On 15 May 2024 the Romani artist Maxim Muchow added a portrait of the late Romani singer Věra Bílá to the wall.{{Cite web|url=https://romea.cz/en/romea-tv-en-2/watch-romani-artist-maxim-muchow-paint-his-portrait-of-the-late-legendary-romani-singer-vera-bila-on-the-john-lennon-wall-in-prague |title=Watch Romani artist Maxim Muchow paint his portrait of the late legendary Romani singer Věra Bílá on the John Lennon Wall in Prague|last=Balážová|first=Jarmila|date=17 May 2024|website=Romea.cz/en|access-date=17 May 2024}}

{{wide image|Lennon Wall Nov2018 RRR (1 of 1).jpg|1200px|The Lennon Wall, November 2018|100%}}

{{main|Lennon Wall (Hong Kong)}}

During the 2014 democracy protests in Hong Kong, a similar Lennon Wall appeared along the staircase outside of the Hong Kong Central Government Offices. Inspired by the original in Prague, many thousands of people posted colourful post-it notes expressing democratic wishes for Hong Kong.{{cite news |last1=Lau |first1=Joyce |title=Art Spawned by Hong Kong Protest; Now to Make It Live On |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/world/asia/rescuing-protest-artwork-from-hong-kongs-streets.html |website=The New York Times |date=14 November 2014 |access-date=9 July 2019}} The wall was one of the major arts of the Umbrella Movement.{{cite web|first=Violet|last=Law|title=Hong Kong protesters seek to archive their art, words for posterity |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-hong-kong-archive-20141214-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=14 December 2014 |access-date=10 July 2019}} Throughout several months of occupation and protest, many efforts were made by different groups to ensure physical and digital preservation of the Hong Kong Lennon Wall.{{cite web|first=Becky|last=Sun|title=Umbrella Movement Visual Archive and Research Collective |url=https://medium.com/jmsc-reports-occupy-central/umbrella-movement-visual-archive-and-research-collective-1a5fb5e5157b |website=Medium |access-date=9 July 2019}}{{cite web |title=The Umbrella Archives: Hong Kong artist collective fights to preserve protest art |url=http://artradarjournal.com/2014/10/24/the-umbrella-archives-hong-kong-artist-collective-fights-to-preserve-protest-art/ |website=Art Radar |access-date=9 July 2019}}{{cite web |title=UMAP Digital Archives |url=https://umbrellaartpreserv.wixsite.com/umap |website=Umbrella Movement Art Preservation |access-date=9 July 2019}}

Five years later, during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the same wall was created again, with new post-it notes. Within days, dozens of post-it note Lennon Walls had "blossomed everywhere" (遍地開花){{cite web |last1=Yu |first1=Verna |title='Don't mess with us': the spirit of rebellion spreads in Hong Kong |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/13/dont-mess-with-us-the-spirit-of-rebellion-spreads-in-hong-kong |website=The Guardian |date=13 July 2019 |access-date=14 July 2019}} throughout Hong Kong, including on Hong Kong Island itself, Kowloon, the New Territories, and on the many outlying islands.{{cite web|first1=Kris|last1=Cheng|first2=Holmes|last2=Chan|title=In Pictures: 'Lennon Wall' message boards appear across Hong Kong districts in support of anti-extradition bill protesters |url=https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/07/09/pictures-lennon-wall-message-boards-appear-across-hong-kong-districts-support-anti-extradition-law-protesters/ |website=Hong Kong Free Press|date=9 July 2019 |access-date=9 July 2019}}{{cite web |title=Lennon Walls of Hong Kong: Lennon Walls started to spread all over Hong Kong during the 2019 Anti-ELAB Movement |url=https://twitter.com/i/moments/1148560104800817152 |website=Twitter |access-date=10 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710064139/https://twitter.com/i/moments/1148560104800817152 |archive-date=10 July 2019 |url-status=live }}{{Primary source inline|date=May 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Lam |first1=Jeffie |last2=Lok-kei |first2=Sum |last3=Kang-chung |first3=Ng |last4=Cheung |first4=Tony |last5=Leung |first5=Christy |title="Lennon Walls" spring up across Hong Kong as more than 200 police in Tai Po remove messages featuring officers' personal information |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3017943/police-riot-gear-descend-lennon-wall-protest-board-tai-po |website=South China Morning Post |date=10 July 2019 |access-date=10 July 2019}} There are even some Lennon Walls located inside government offices, including RTHK{{cite web|url=https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1470400-20190725.htm|title=Civil servants join the fray as crisis escalates|website=RTHK|date=25 July 2019|access-date=25 July 2019}} and the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office.{{cite web|url=https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/07/25/pictures-100s-hong-kong-civil-servants-criticise-govt-handling-protests-yuen-long-mob-attacks/|title=In Pictures: 100s of Hong Kong civil servants criticise gov't handling of protests and Yuen Long mob attacks|first=Kris |last=Cheng|work=Hong Kong Free Press|date=25 July 2019|access-date=25 July 2019}} According to a crowd-sourced map of Hong Kong, there are over 150 Lennon Walls throughout the region.{{cite web |title=HK Lennon Wall Map (香港連儂牆地圖) |url=https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1uGqynlkWVRvvtVr-e1-7vOUbpqFvcDvP |website=Google Maps|access-date=13 July 2019}}

On 21 September 2019, police in Hong Kong began tearing down Lennon Walls across the city to remove anti-government statements.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/21/pro-china-supporters-tear-down-hong-kongs-lennon-walls|title=Hong Kong riot police fire teargas at protesters as unrest continues|first=Verna|last=Yu|newspaper=The Guardian|date=21 September 2019|access-date=21 September 2019}}

Lennon Walls have also appeared outside of Hong Kong in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Seoul, Tokyo, Berlin, London, Sydney, Manchester, Melbourne, Taipei, and Auckland.{{cite web |title=A world away from Hong Kong, a "Lennon Wall" supporting pro-democracy demonstrators springs up in Toronto |url=https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/a-world-away-from-hong-kong-a-lennon-wall-supporting-pro-democracy-demonstrators-springs-up-in-toronto/ar-AAEe1yQ |publisher=MSN |access-date=13 July 2019}}{{cite web|first=Cherise|last=Seucharan|title='Lennon wall' on Vancouver steam clock a symbol of support for Hong Kong protesters |url=https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2019/07/13/lennon-wall-on-vancouver-steam-clock-a-symbol-of-support-for-hong-kong-protesters.html |website=The Star |date=13 July 2019 |access-date=14 July 2019}}{{cite web|script-title=zh:Tokyo Shibuya Lennon Wall (東京渋谷現「連儂牆」紙牌、人身代牆避免打擾日本人) |url=https://thestandnews.com/politics/東京渋谷現-連儂牆-紙牌-人身代牆避免打擾日本人/|url-status=dead|website=The Stand News|access-date=14 July 2019|language=zh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814212459/http://www.thestandnews.com/politics/%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E6%B8%8B%E8%B0%B7%E7%8F%BE-%E9%80%A3%E5%84%82%E7%89%86-%E7%B4%99%E7%89%8C-%E4%BA%BA%E8%BA%AB%E4%BB%A3%E7%89%86%E9%81%BF%E5%85%8D%E6%89%93%E6%93%BE%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E4%BA%BA/|archive-date=14 August 2019}}{{cite web |title=Stand with Hong Kong in Berlin |url=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_cf5t1WwAAcNX0.jpg|url-status=dead|website=Twitter CDN |access-date=15 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715053618/https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_cf5t1WwAAcNX0.jpg |archive-date=15 July 2019}}{{cite news|first=Lincoln|last=Tan|title=Hong Kong dispute over China's extradition bill gets physical on University of Auckland campus |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12254118 |access-date=30 July 2019 |website=The New Zealand Herald |date=30 July 2019}}

{{Gallery

|title=

|width=160 | height=170

|align=center

|footer=

|File:2014 Hong Kong protests October 21 - Lennon Wall.JPG

|alt1=The Lennon Wall at Central Government Offices, 21 October 2014.

|Hong Kong Umbrella Movement protests: The Lennon Wall at Central Government Offices, 21 October 2014.

|File:Lennon Wall in CGO 201906.jpg

|alt2=The Lennon Wall returns amidst the anti-extradition bill protests

|The Lennon Wall returns amidst the anti-extradition bill protests, June 2019.

|File:Hongkong-John Lennon wall.jpg

|A message from Hong Kong citizens in 2019 on the John Lennon wall in Prague. It reads “~To the people of the Czech Republic 30 years ago you won the fight against the Communists. Now Hongkong is fighting against the Chinese tyranny{{sic}}. TP Please Support Hong Kong”

}}

{{Portal|Czech Republic|Visual arts}}

• John Lennon Park — Havana, Cuba
• Strawberry Fields — Memorial in Central Park NYC
• Tsoi Wall — a similar wall near Arbat Street in Moscow
• Lennon Walls of Hong Kong
• Art of the Umbrella Movement
• 2019–20 Hong Kong protests
• Extinction Rebellion
• List of famous walls
• r/place

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|John Lennon Wall, Prague}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20180109130834/http://www.lennonwall.org/ Digital Lennon Wall]
• [https://www.thelennonwallstory.com/ Museum of the Lennon wall's official website]
• Google Maps [https://www.google.com/maps?q=Lennon+Wall,+Velkop%C5%99evorsk%C3%A9+n%C3%A1m%C4%9Bst%C3%AD,+Praha,+Tsekin+tasavalta&hl=fi&ie=UTF8&sll=50.082634,14.415625&sspn=0.018561,0.052314&oq=lennon+wall+p&t=h&hq=Lennon+Wall,&hnear=Velkop%C5%99evorsk%C3%A9+n%C3%A1m%C4%9Bst%C3%AD,+Praha,+Tsekin+tasavalta&z=16 location] of John Lennon Wall
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070312101448/http://www.erasmuspc.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=299&Itemid=81 Article about the Lennon Wall in the Erasmuspc World CityPoem collection]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160927162632/http://www.kosmas.cz/knihy/130532/lennonova-zed-v-praze-cd/ Book of Lennon Wall]

{{John Lennon|state=collapsed}}

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Category:Cultural depictions of John Lennon

Category:Buildings and structures in Prague

Category:Culture in Prague

Category:Graffiti and unauthorised signage

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