Franz Kafka, (born July 3, 1883, Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now in Czech Republic]--died June 3, 1924, Kierling, near Vienna, Austria), German-language writer of visionary fiction whose works--especially the novel Der Prozess (1925; The Trial) and the story Die Verwandlung (1915; The Metamorphosis)--express the anxieties and alienation felt by many in 20th-century Europe and North America.