Named for the patron saint of the Czech nation, Wenceslas Square came into being during the mid-14th century. A statue of Saint Wenceslas crowns the top of the square, in front of the imposing National Museum -- which was built a century ago.

In the early hours of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, on August 21, 1968, Soviet tank commanders decided the museum must be the nation's parliament building -- and opened fire on it.

The Soviet invasion involved about 500,000 Warsaw Pact troops and was remarkably well-planned and executed. Only a handful of soldiers died. Recently released documents, meanwhile, suggest that more than 80 Czechoslovak citizens were killed and several hundred wounded during a month of clashes following the invasion.

One of the deadliest incidents took place not far from Wenceslas Square, at Prague Radio headquarters. Soviet forces, seeking to control communications, were met outside the radio building by a crowd of jeering demonstrators. Soviet troops opened fire -- first in the air and then into the crowd. At least 20 Czechoslovaks were killed. Some civilians responded to the Soviet invaders with rocks and Molotov cocktails.

Despite the Soviet crackdown, protests against the invasion continued in Prague. One of the most poignant took place in Wenceslas Square in January 1969 -- when Jan Palach, a 20-year-old student, burned himself to death in front of the statue of Saint Wenceslas. The site of his suicide became a memorial to his martyrdom, and later -- after the collapse of the Soviet Union -- to the victims of communism.

Two decades after the suppression of the Prague Spring, in 1989, Wenceslas Square became the focal point for what became known as the Velvet Revolution -- which ended more than 40 years of communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Anger at the communist regime, fueled by recent violence against demonstrators, led to a series of massive protests in Prague -- and in Wenceslas Square in particular. Continued pressure by the protesters, led by students and intellectuals, led to the resignation of the entire Czechoslovak Communist Party leadership.

It was during one of these demonstrations that Alexander Dubcek, the Communist Party leader who allowed the Prague Spring to take place and was later exiled from the city, returned to the Czech capital in triumph. He addressed the demonstrators from a balcony overlooking Wenceslas Square accompanied by Vaclav Havel -- the playwright who later went on to become president of the Czech Republic.