Franz Kafka was a German-speaking Bohemian Jewish novelist and writer from Prague. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typically features isolated protagonists facing bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible socio-bureaucratic powers. It has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity. His best known works include the novella The Metamorphosis and novels The Trial and The Castle. The term Kafkaesque has entered English to describe absurd situations like those depicted in his writing.

Charles University, also known as Charles University in Prague or historically as the University of Prague, is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic, the second university established in the Holy Roman Empire after Bologna. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the first university north of the Alps and east of Paris. Today, the university consists of 17 faculties located in Prague, Hradec Králové, and Plzeň. Charles University is in the top three universities in Central and Eastern Europe. The institution has been ranked 200–300 in the world as one of the best universities.