Franz Kafka’s former Prague home to become museum & literary café

Reconstruction of the Prague house where famed writer Franz Kafka was born should be completed by the end of 2019, according to Prague City Hall.

While Kafka’s childhood home was torn down when Prague’s Jewish ghetto was razed in 1897, the building that replaced it has been undergoing some much-needed renovations since August of 2017.

Those renovations, which amount to an estimated 165 million crowns, are expected to be finished by the end of the year. While upper floors will contain apartments, a museum dedicated to Kafka and a literary café will occupy the lower floors of the building, along with another non-residential space rented out by the city.

“In the other two non-residential premises on the first floor there will be a literary café with facilities, with exhibition spaces in the first underground floor and housing units from the second to sixth floors,” Vit Hofman, spokesperson for Prague City Hall, told ČTK.

One of Prague’s most famous historical residents, the street where his childhood home is located, just off Prague’s Old Town Square, was renamed Náměstí Franze Kafky (Franz Kafka Square) in 2000.

The address of the home, now known as Kafkův dům (Kafka House), sits at Náměstí Franze Kafky 1.

Two of Prague’s most famous street art installations are dedicated to the writer: Jaroslav Róna’s Statue of Franz Kafka on Dušní and David Černý’s giant rotating Head of Franz Kafka on Charvátova.

The Franz Kafka Museum at Cihelná in Prague’s Malá Strana also pays homage to the surrealist writer.

The city of Prague is planning to reconstruct a number of other historic landmarks in 2019.

Among those is the Old Town Marketplace, a once-thriving indoor market in the center of Prague near Wenceslas Square which should begin reconstruction this year.

The expansive Clam-Gallas Palace, which is now more than 300 years old, is also currently undergoing a 344-million crown renovations, with work expected to finish in 2021.