Grand Hotel Evropa

The Grand Hotel Evropa must certainly have been one of the most important addresses in Franz Kafka’s life as this was where he held his first ever public reading. Back in the year 1912, this place was known as Hotel Erzherzog Stefan and was a landmark just the way it continues to be today. This iconic Art Nouveau structure stands tall and pretty in the northern end of Prague’s beloved Wenceslas Square. The yellow, green and red façade is the most striking feature of Grand Hotel Evropa and the ninety rooms and two suites are tastefully done in the style of Louis XVI. The interiors of this architectural marvel have even made their way into Hollywood given their appearance in Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission Impossible’. Unfortunately for those planning on spending a few nights in the lap of this historical beauty, the hotel is presently closed for renovation.

It is interesting to note that Kafka had read from his work ‘The Judgement’, which is a story of the conflicted relationship between a father and a son. It ends with the son drowning himself into the river after being sentenced to death by his own father. Does it in any way throw light on some hidden part of Kafka’s life? Or is it just another morbid tale like the several others penned by him? We will perhaps never know.