Karl Marx Monument

Karl Marx Karlovy Vary lostlara (Atlas Obscura User)

The spa town of Karlovy Vary, located 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Prague, has never been home to Karl Marx. He did, however, visit the spa three times between 1874 and 1876, a fact which local artist and sculptor Karel Kuneš decided to immortalize.

Marx, a Prussian-born philosopher, political thinker and revolutionist, studied political economy and Hegelian philosophy. He is most famous for his work with Fredrich Engels, in particular, the 1848 publication The Communist Manifesto.

The statue was unveiled on the 5th of May 1988, which would have been Marx’s 170th birthday. It can be found in the park opposite the Russian Consulate on Castle Hill (Zámecký vrch). The statue is Kuneš’ second monument to Karl Marx, the first being a bust that can be seen on the premises of the Hot Springs Colonnade (Vřídelní Kolonáda) in Prague.

Know Before You Go

Take Bus No. 4 from Tržnice (Market) to "U jezírka" (By the Pond) stop and from there, walk about 100 metres down Petr Veliký (Peter the Great) Street directly to the monument.