Babies — David Černý, Prague
David Černý · Miminka (Babies), ten crawling figures; first up May 2000, copies since spring 2019 · Žižkov Television Tower · Prague, Czech Republic
Photo: Balou46 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, as published on Street Art Utopia (17 October 2026). Taken 18 October 2013, per the file’s camera data, so it shows one of the original babies, four years before the 2017 removal. Artwork: David Černý. Full photograph shown; resized for display.
Ten black babies with barcode-like faces crawl up the concrete shafts of the Žižkov Television Tower. David Černý’s figures first went up in May 2000, as a temporary installation for Prague’s year as a European City of Culture, and were fixed for good in 2001. České Radiokomunikace · ČTK via ArchiWeb · Seznam Zprávy Checked The babies on the tower today are copies, installed from late March 2019. ČTK via ArchiWeb · e15 · Expats.cz Checked The owner’s director says the originals were returned to Černý. Expats.cz Reported
5 things to know
- Made for a show in ChicagoPrague City Tourism and Seznam Zprávy both say the baby was first made for an installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and that a version later hung on the Czech Embassy in London (Prague City Tourism dates that to 1999). Prague City Tourism · Seznam Zprávy Checked
- Meant to stay one yearAccording to ČTK, the 2000 installation was not built to last and the tower owner’s agreement covered only one year. At the end of 2001 the babies were fixed again, with metal strips inserted into the sculptures and anchored to the tower’s casing. Expats.cz says they stayed because people liked them. ČTK via ArchiWeb · Expats.cz Reported
- Down for repair in 2017The tower owner, České Radiokomunikace, took the ten sculptures down one by one between 2 and 10 October 2017 for inspection, repair and cleaning, and planned to spend more than one million crowns on the work. České Radiokomunikace Checked
- Copies, not the originalsAfter examining the originals the owner decided to make new ones. Climbers began hanging the copies over the weekend of 23–24 March 2019; ČTK reported one attached on 25 March and the rest planned one a day until 9 April. The company paid for the copies and Černý gave them to it, according to its director Vít Vážan. Expats.cz · ČTK via ArchiWeb · e15 Checked
- Heavier copiesČerný told e15 the new babies weigh about 350 kg and the originals 190 kg; Prague City Tourism and Seznam Zprávy also give 350 kg for the copies. The owner’s 2017 notice gave 120 kg for an original, so the old weight is shown as Conflicting below. e15 · Prague City Tourism · Seznam Zprávy · České Radiokomunikace Checked
In the street
Check-in guide
- 📍
- On the outside of the Žižkov Television Tower in Prague 3. The babies cling to the concrete shafts and are seen from the street below. České Radiokomunikace · Seznam Zprávy · Institute of Art History, CAS Checked
- 👶
- Bronze babies by Černý also crawl in the park by Museum Kampa, and Seznam Zprávy mentions another at the Prague 3 town hall, so you can see one up close. Prague City Tourism · Seznam Zprávy Checked
Sightings
- 2000May
First installed · CRA
- 200719 Oct
Photo · Wikimedia Commons
- 201318 Oct
Photo · Wikimedia Commons
- 20172 Oct
Taken down for repair · CRA
- 201922 Mar
Copies announced · e15
- 201925 Mar
First copy back · ČTK
- 201929 Mar
Back on the tower · Expats.cz
- 202512 Mar
On the tower · Seznam Zprávy
Every stamp links to its source. The two green stamps are the dated photos on this page, taken on 19 October 2007 and 18 October 2013, both showing the original babies. Amber stamps are dated reports: the owner’s notices of the first installation and the 2017 removal, three reports from March 2019 as the copies went up, and Seznam Zprávy’s March 2025 article, which describes the ten babies as part of the tower today. We found no dated photo of the 2019 copies. The status stamp follows the 2025 report.
On the record
Heavier copies
“Nová miminka váží zhruba 350 kilo, ta původní nebyla tak bytelná a vážila 190 kilogramů.”
“The new babies weigh about 350 kilos; the original ones were not as sturdy and weighed 190 kilograms.” David Černý, as quoted by e15.
A gift to the owner
“My jsme zafinancovali výrobu skulptur a David Černý nám je věnoval.”
“We paid for making the sculptures and David Černý gave them to us.” Vít Vážan, head of České Radiokomunikace, as quoted by e15.
Why new ones
“After a thorough examination of the condition of the original sculptures, we decided to produce new ones”
Vít Vážan of České Radiokomunikace, as quoted by Expats.cz. He added: “The original Babies were returned to David Černý.”
The facts
- Work
- Miminka (Babies): ten black crawling baby figures whose faces are replaced by a barcode-like pattern. Prague City Tourism · Seznam Zprávy · České Radiokomunikace Checked
- Artist
- David Černý. České Radiokomunikace · Expats.cz · Prague City Tourism · Seznam Zprávy · Institute of Art History, CAS Checked
- Location
- Žižkov Television Tower, Prague 3. České Radiokomunikace · ČTK via ArchiWeb · Seznam Zprávy · Institute of Art History, CAS Checked
- First up
- May 2000, temporarily, for Prague’s year as a European City of Culture. České Radiokomunikace · ČTK via ArchiWeb · Seznam Zprávy Checked Expats.cz instead dates the first installation to 2001. We lean to May 2000, the date given by the tower’s owner and by ČTK. Expats.cz Conflicting
- Permanent
- Fixed again for good in 2001, at the end of the year according to ČTK. ČTK via ArchiWeb · Seznam Zprávy · Prague City Tourism Checked
- Removed
- 2–10 October 2017, for repair. České Radiokomunikace Checked
- Copies
- Installed from late March 2019, starting over the weekend of 23–24 March; ČTK reported one attached on 25 March. ČTK via ArchiWeb · e15 · Expats.cz Checked Under an agreement with Černý they stay on the tower for 20 years and then pass to the owner free of charge, per Expats.cz. Expats.cz Reported
- Size
- The owner gives 3.4 m long, 2.4 m high and 1.2 m wide (2017). České Radiokomunikace e15 and Prague City Tourism give 350 cm long and 260 cm high; Seznam Zprávy gives 350 by 240 cm. We lean to the owner’s figures, as the tower’s owner measured the set it was repairing. e15 · Prague City Tourism · Seznam Zprávy Conflicting
- Weight
- Copies about 350 kg each. e15 · Prague City Tourism · Seznam Zprávy Checked Originals: 190 kg according to Černý, 120 kg according to the owner’s 2017 notice. We lean to 190 kg, which Prague City Tourism’s “160 kg more” figure also implies. e15 · České Radiokomunikace · Prague City Tourism Conflicting
- Material
- Originals: a steel frame with a 2 mm glass-fibre shell, described elsewhere as laminate. České Radiokomunikace · Prague City Tourism · e15 Checked The copies have a metal frame. Prague City Tourism Reported
- Originals
- On display in the USA, Černý told ČTK in March 2019. ČTK via ArchiWeb Reported The owner’s director told Expats.cz they were returned to Černý and were shown in Palm Springs, California. Expats.cz Reported
- Status
- Seen March 2025: Seznam Zprávy describes the ten babies as part of the tower today. Seznam Zprávy Reported
- Our photo
- Balou46 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, the close-up Street Art Utopia used. Taken 18 October 2013, so it shows one of the original babies, four years before the 2017 removal. Balou46 / Wikimedia Commons Checked
Related
- On Street Art Utopia: I Got the Size Wrong (12 Photos) (17 October 2026), where the close-up and wide photos above appeared as the first pair.
All sources (10)
Owner and records
- České Radiokomunikace: “CRA to renovate Žižkov TV Tower babies”, 2 October 2017. Removal dates, size, weight, frame and shell, first installation in May 2000.
- Prague City Tourism: “Socha Miminko (Baby)”, undated. Size, ten laminate babies since 2001, the 2019 copies and their weight, Kampa.
- Institute of Art History, Czech Academy of Sciences: “Žižkov TV Tower”, undated. Lists the sculptures by David Černý under 2000 and says they were fixed permanently in 2001.
News
- e15: “Po žižkovské věži opět polezou obří mimina”, Michal Nosek, 22 March 2019. Weights, size, quotes from Černý and Vít Vážan.
- ČTK via ArchiWeb: “The first baby has returned to the Žižkov television transmitter”, 25 March 2019. Ten replicas, schedule, history of the 2000 and 2001 installations.
- Expats.cz: “David Černý’s Babies have returned to Prague TV tower”, Jason Pirodsky, 29 March 2019. Removal, copies, the owner’s statement that the originals were returned, 20-year agreement.
- Seznam Zprávy: Žižkovská věž, Veronika Kejřová, 12 March 2025. The babies on the tower today, size and weight of the 2019 copies.
Background
- Wikipedia: “Babies (Černý)”. Used only to find sources.
Photos
- Balou46: CZ-Prag-zizkov-tv-turm-baby.jpg, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0; taken 18 October 2013.
- Rosa Menkman: Žižkov Television tower.jpg, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0; taken 19 October 2007.
Artwork File · Last checked 17 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files