Olšanské hřbitovy

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The overgrown yet beautiful Olšany Cemetery contains grand memorials to two unlikely bedfellows: Klement Gottwald, the first communist president, who died after catching a cold at Stalin's funeral; and Jan Palach, the most famous anti-communist martyr, who set fire to himself in Wenceslas Square in 1969. In death their fates have been oddly linked, as neither has been allowed to rest in peace. Palach was buried here in 1969, but his grave became such a focus of dissent that the authorities disinterred his body and reburied it deep in the Bohemian countryside. In 1990, though, he was dug up and brought back to Olšany. His grave is to the right of the main entrance.

Gottwald, too, travelled in death. His remains were first housed in the National Memorial, where scientists tried to mummify him. But following the Velvet Revolution, his corpse was removed and returned to his family. His current resting place is harder to locate, hidden away as it is in section five and sharing a mass grave with various other discredited party members.