Kafka’s Second House

Franz Kafka's second house

The Prague audio-guided tour points out to you a fine residence covered with sgraffito, those mural decorations as if scratched into the rendering. The Kafka family owned it from 1889 to 1896, which connects this place to one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, deeply linked to Prague.

A writer inseparable from Prague

Franz Kafka, an Austro-Hungarian author of the early twentieth century, spent his whole life in Prague. His writings, of a fascinating ambiguity, were particularly marked by the conflictual relationship with his father, by the dark world of wars, by religion and by his triple culture, Czech, German and Jewish. Having died at forty-one, he left a work that has become universal, including The Trial and The Metamorphosis.

What there is to see

The house, adorned with its characteristic sgraffito, deserves that you linger over its decorated façade. It is one of the many places in Prague linked to Kafka, that lovers of literature like to seek out through the city. It is a stop for those who wish to walk in the writer's footsteps and feel the atmosphere that pervades his work.

Practical information

Franz Kafka's second house is in the Old Town of Prague. The sgraffito-adorned façade can be contemplated freely from the street, at all hours and on the level. The building cannot be visited; it is a stop to discover along the walk.

Who was Franz Kafka?

An Austro-Hungarian writer of the twentieth century, who spent his whole life in Prague and left a work that has become universal.

What is sgraffito?

A mural decoration technique obtained by scratching the rendering, which adorns the façade of this residence that belonged to the Kafka family.