A face that won't hold still
The 42 stainless steel layers turn independently, so Kafka's face splits, twists and reassembles. Černý meant it to echo Kafka's own sense of a self that never quite fits together.
Urban Tales › Prague › Kafka's Rotating Head
Kafka's Rotating Head: a face that keeps falling apart
Behind a shopping center on Národní street, an 11-meter head of Franz Kafka breaks into 42 spinning layers and comes back together. Here's what you're looking at, and what to listen for while you wait for it to turn.
Unveiled2014
ArtistDavid Černý
Height≈ 11 m
Layers42
Hear the Kafka's Rotating Head story, in the app's voice
A short preview. The full story plays on its own when you walk up to it with Urban Tales.
Three stories most visitors miss
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2
Prague's provocateur
David Černý is also behind the babies crawling up the Žižkov TV Tower and the two men urinating into a pond shaped like the Czech Republic, at the Kafka Museum.
3
Kafka's city
Kafka was born in 1883 about a kilometer from here, by the Old Town Square, and lived almost his whole life in Prague.
TipStand at the corner of the square in front of the Quadrio shopping center and wait for the head to start turning; it moves for a few minutes, then stops. With Urban Tales running, its story plays as you reach the square.
Nearby landmarks
Kafka's Rotating Head: common questions
Where is the Kafka head in Prague?
Behind the Quadrio shopping center, by Národní třída metro station.
How often does the Kafka head rotate?
It moves in short sequences at regular intervals through the day.
Who made the Kafka head?
Czech artist David Černý, in 2014.