Easter in Prague — Markets, Pomlázka, and Czech Traditions

Easter in the Czech Republic is less about chocolate eggs and more about a thousand-year-old fertility ritual involving decorated willow whips. The tradition is called pomlázka, and it's exactly as strange and wonderful as it sounds. Prague celebrates Easter with markets on Old Town Square, painted eggs, folk music, and food that ranges from lamb-shaped cakes to grilled sausages washed down with Easter beer. If you visit Prague during Easter week, you'll experience a holiday that still carries genuinely Czech customs beneath the tourist-friendly surface.

We walk guests through Prague's Easter celebrations every year, and what surprises most visitors is how alive the traditions feel. This isn't a museum recreation — Czech families still follow Easter customs that have been passed down for centuries, and Prague's Easter markets are where those traditions meet the modern city.

Prague Easter Markets

The main Easter market sets up on Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí), typically opening two to three weeks before Easter Sunday and running through the week after. A second market appears on Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí), slightly more commercial but equally lively.

The markets feature wooden stalls selling painted Easter eggs (kraslice), willow whips decorated with ribbons (pomlázky), handmade ceramics, wooden toys, and Czech glass ornaments. Food stalls serve trdelník (chimney cake), grilled klobásy (sausages), ham roasted on a spit (pražská šunka), and hot medovina (honey wine).

Insider timing: the markets are quietest on weekday mornings before 10 AM. On Easter Saturday and Sunday, Old Town Square gets very busy — if you want to browse comfortably, go early or visit on Thursday or Friday morning. We often bring our tour groups through at opening time, when the vendors are setting up and the square smells of fresh pastry and wood smoke.

The market on Náměstí Republiky (Republic Square) near Palladium mall is smaller and draws more locals than tourists. If you want to see Czech families doing their Easter shopping rather than souvenir browsing, this is the one.

Pomlázka — The Whipping Tradition

This is the tradition that makes visitors raise an eyebrow. On Easter Monday, Czech men (and boys) visit the homes of women and girls and gently whip them on the legs with a braided willow switch called a pomlázka. The whipping is supposed to transfer the vitality and freshness of the spring willow to the woman. In return, the woman gives the man a painted egg or a glass of slivovice (plum brandy).

The tradition is ancient — likely pre-Christian in origin — and is still widely practised in rural Bohemia and Moravia. In Prague, it's more subdued. You'll see pomlázky for sale at every Easter market stall, and some families still follow the custom, but the full door-to-door ritual is more of a countryside tradition now.

Our guests are always fascinated by the pomlázka. The willow switches are beautiful objects — some are intricately braided with four, eight, or even twelve willow branches, decorated with ribbons in bright colours. They make excellent souvenirs and are light enough to pack in a suitcase.