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„I absolutely love Prague; this is my love letter to Prague,” said Dan Brown. The American bestselling author, whose books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 56 languages. His latest novel, ‚The Secret of Secrets‘, is set in the Czech capital. In its ancient, winding streets, renowned symbology professor Robert Langdon searches for the secrets and meaning of human consciousness.
Dan Brown first visited Prague with his father in 1984. He was captivated by the city even then, which is why he loves to return. Since then, he has discovered many hidden corners of Prague that the average tourist misses. He set the plot of his novel „The Secret of Secrets“ in these inspiring Prague locations: It takes place at the Old Town Bridge Tower, the Old Jewish Cemetery, the Klementinum National Library, and even at a bomb shelter in Folimanka Park that is still relatively unknown to Prague residents … In fact, Brown shared photos of many of these places on his Instagram during his next visit to Prague, where he arrived two months later.
Following Langdon’s Footsteps in Prague
Where can Dan Brown fans go in Prague to follow in the footsteps of Robert Langdon—and thus his creator, Dan Brown? Those interested can find fascinating locations on the website www.prague.eu, titled “Dan Brown’s Prague, the Golem, and the Secrets of the Jewish City,” which was jointly created by Prague City Tourism and the Prague-based publishing house Argo, which publishes Brown’s novels in Czech.
The novel „The Secret of Secrets“ also caught the attention of Danuše Siering, the publisher at Black Swan Media in Prague, who sent Dan Brown some questions—and the American author replied immediately.
On Prague’s Soul vs. Setting: You beautifully described The Secret of Secrets as a love letter to Prague. While readers enjoy the fast-paced adventure through famous landmarks, how did you balance the tourist-friendly sights with the deeper, darker historical soul of Prague that you studied during your 15 years of contemplation?
I’ve always treated location as a character, and few characters have ever beguiled me as fully as Prague has. She is enigmatic, beautiful, and rich in secrets. The castles and towers are the postcard, but the real story lives underneath, in the Klementinum’s hidden passageways, the ancient stones of Charles Bridge, and the alchemical lore of the mystics that Rudolf II summoned four centuries ago. I intentionally set the book in winter in hopes of giving Langdon some extra space to explore the snowy lanes alone and discover the magic of the city that so captured my imagination.
On Prague’s Literary Tradition: Prague has a rich literary tradition of mystery and magic, from the legends of Rudolf II to Kafka. In what way do you feel Robert Langdon’s modern scientific journey through Prague adds a completely new, 21st-century chapter to the city’s long history in world literature?
Prague spent centuries as Europe’s laboratory of all things mystical: alchemists chasing the secret of matter, the rabbi who supposedly breathed life into clay, and Kafka watching a man wake up transformed. My goal was simply to explore those old obsessions with a modern instrument. Langdon’s mystery is human consciousness — where the mind ends and whether anything of us persists — which turns out to be the exact question the alchemists and mystics were circling all along, only now it’s being asked in a lab rather than a candlelit tower. My hope is that this book is seen as I envisioned it—simply as one more chapter in Prague’s magical, ongoing story.
