Prague’s most famous boulevard, Wenceslas Square, is in danger of becoming famous for reasons besides the museum at the top of it, the statue of St. Wenceslas and the many shops and hotels it is home to. The French news agency AFP has picked up that the square has become the biggest open air drug market in the country. Walking the square with policemen to watch how they try to rid it of the numerous groups of gaunt-looking drug addicts, it notes the square’s other seedier elements, including prostitutes, pickpockets and conniving taxi drivers. The paper suggests that the arrival of these social issues is in part the result of the clean-up of Prague’s Main Train Station, and says Prague’s city hall understands that it must act to alleviate what could prove a threat to the city’s image. It can’t be doing any good, it should be mentioned, to the real estate along Wenceslas Square.
