World-reknowned physicist Albert Einstein lived in Prague, and develped part of his theory of relativity here too. This article goes through his life in the Bohemian capital, and the places he frequented.

Lecturing and work

In 1911, Einstein relocated to Prague with his first wife, Mileva Marić, and their two sons, Hans and Edward¹. They brought a live-in maid with them¹ and they all lived in Prague’s Smichov neighbourhood in Prague 5. They lived in a brand-new art-deco apartment at 7 Trebížského street (now known as Lesnická)¹. The apartment was so modern that it also had electricity, which was cutting-edge¹. Today there is a plaque on the facade commemorating his stay.

Thirty-two-year-old Einstein was Professor of Theoretical Physics at the German University of Prague^{1 2}. This is now the Charles University. At the time, most of public life in Prague was in German, and ruled from Vienna. It had taken some time for the Ministry of Culture & Education to approve his application, and he started on 04 April^{1 2}.

Czechia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time, and the Archduke Franz Ferdinand lived close by.

He had a routine 20-minute walk to work¹:

• He would cross Palackeho bridge
• Walk up towards Karlovo Namesti, past Faust’s house.
• Turn right at the end of the road towards his office.

He lectured at the Physics building at Viničná 7 in Prague’s New Town². He was not world-famous yet but he was already well-known in physics circles. There is a plaque with his profile inside the building commemorating this fact. They paid him a salary of 8 872 Austrian kroners a year² which is approximately EUR 37 000 in today’s money³. For this he²:

• Lectured for 5 hours a week.
• Provided 2 hours of tutorials a week.

He had 20 students including 2 women¹. He had plenty of spare time with this schedule He had plenty of spare time with this schedule and wrote a few theoretical papers covering relativity to quantum physics¹.

He wrote and published a dozen theoretical papers in Prague covering relativity to quantum physics². In 1923, he penned a foreward to the Czech edition of his book where he noted that Prague was the place where he developed the basic idea of general relativity¹. We know this from the great man himself. In 1923, he penned a forward to the Czech edition of his book, stating: 

I’m pleased that this little book in which the main thoughts of the theory of relativity are portrayed is now published in the national language of the country in which I found the necessary composure to give the basic thought of the general theory of relativity (1908) step by step a more definite shape so it could be realized. In the quiet rooms of the Theoretical Physical Institute of the Prague German University in the Vinicna ulice I discovered in 1911 that the equivalence principle demands a refraction of the rays of light at the sun of a sum that can be observed without knowing that more than a hundred years before a similar conclusion out of the Newton mechanic in connection with Newton’s emission theory of the light was drawn. Also the still not really confirmed consequence of the red shift of the spectral lines I discovered in Prague.

Albert Einstein

Personal life

Living in Prague 5, he enjoyed the delights of nearby Kampa Island but was critical of the pollution from what was, at the time, a industrialised neighbourhood¹.

He was a regular at the Cafe Louvre on Narodni street, where he used to hang out with legendary Czech author Franz Kafka¹. Another regular haunt of his was a salon on the Old Town Square¹ where German Jews congregated, and where he would sometimes play Mozart on his violin².

This is the Stone Lamb house and apart from another plaque, there is a modern restaurant named after him.

His wife was not happy in Prague and wanted to move back to Zurich¹. She had had many problems adapting; the Czech language being one of her difficulties¹. Einstein was reluctant to leave, but he did in August 1912⁴ to take up a post at the University of Zurich¹.

Einstein revisited in 1921, when he won the Nobel Prize, and a few other times before he left for the United States in 1932¹.

References

1. Albert Einstein’s time in the Czech capital had a relatively big influence; Raymond Johnson; Expats.CZ; 2020-04-24[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. “Einstein in Bohemia” – Part II; Brian Kenety; Radio Prague International; 2020-02-17[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
3. Historical currency convertor; Rodney Edvinsson; (Used 2024-04-22) [↩]
4. “Einstein in Bohemia” – Part I; Brian Kenety; Radio Prague International; 2020-02-14[↩]

Remember: links were correct at time of publication.