Abstract
Prague, like many other places in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, is a palimpsest: its cityscape embodies different layers of a discontinuous history, some visible, others hidden. At the same time, and related to the mnemonic function of built structures, Prague and the Czech Republic are a paradigmatic case for the contested nature of memory, both in the region and more generally in the Eastern realm.
Political groups embed their ideologies on particular narratives and associated visions of the past, whereas diverse social groups and initiatives struggle to make their histories visible in public space and mediated representations thereof. Political and social cleavages are rooted not only in divergent historical experiences but are reproduced through a struggle over history and memory.
Both, therefore, have become major objects of political and social contestation, from the private sphere to national legislation. At the same time, the diverse pasts of a place like Prague face not only political but also commercial appropriations, which adds another layer to the fluidity of representations of history..