26 March 2025 – The Mysterious Golem, The White Unicorn of Science and Kafka's Prague, the Mother with Claws - these are the titles of new comics that Prague City Tourism is offering as souvenirs from our metropolis. It has approached the renowned illustrator and comics author Štěpán Mareš to collaborate. So far they have appeared on the shelves of the original souvenir shop on the ground floor of the Old Town Hall in Czech; versions in other languages will soon follow. “The idea of building a deeper relationship of cultured tourists to Prague through stories arose in cooperation with the Czech Academy of Sciences. The narratives we have created together are used not only on the website but also in souvenirs. Comics are the ideal format for telling stories simply, entertainingly and yet in a way that sticks in readers’ minds. Through them, we offer travellers added value to preserve their beautiful memories of Prague, to learn what Prague has in common with their own countries and to show the quality of Prague’s creators,” says Jana Adamcová, Vice Chair of Prague City Tourism. The four-page stories will undoubtedly attract collectors of the so-called ninth art, as comics are sometimes called. Prague City Tourism approached cartoonist Štěpán Mareš to create comics from Prague. The “father” of the famous comic alien Green Raoul is in fact a master of many graphic genres. He has so far worked up a total of three stories as souvenirs from Prague: Franz Kafka, Albert Einstein and the Golem. In these renderings you will also find depictions of other well-known personalities such as Rabbi Löw, Egon Erwin Kish and Berta Fanta. In the background to the individual panels you will recognize famous Prague places. “Working on these comics is a joy for me. I have studied in detail everything about these heroes and their life in Prague. What they did here, where they lived, what were their joys and worries, whom did they meet, and above all where did they move around in Prague. All so that we can offer these places at the end of each comic story, for tourists – and others – to visit. They can stand right in a place where Franz Kafka walked more than 100 years ago, or they can see, for example, the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Viničná St, where Einstein taught in 1911, and so on,” the artist Štěpán Mareš explains enthusiastically. “I myself am fascinated by what I am learning over time about Prague from a range of materials. These comics are made for both fun and education, nothing is made up. All the places and characters actually existed. Even the details of men’s jackets, women’s hats and other clothing are historically accurate. I simply enjoy researching in the sources and I do it with gusto,” adds the author, who is already working up other well-known Prague stories and personalities. The comics in Czech can be bought from the end of March in the original souvenirs shop on the ground floor of the Old Town Hall or in the e-shop at prague.eu. Celebrities such as Franz Kafka, Albert Einstein and the mysterious Golem will soon also speak English and German in their cartoon bubbles. The comics can be purchased separately or as a set of three at a discounted price. The comics will complement the already rich range of luxurious notebooks with Prague motifs by Michal Bačák, or T-shirts with the Prague metro motif, which can also be taken from Prague and thus enhance the experience of exploring the capital.
