Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
St Vitus's Cathedral
This spectacular Gothic cathedral is an unmissable sight in Prague, not least
because of its dominant position on Hrad
≤
any hill, looming over the Vltava
and the rest of the city. Prince Wenceslas first built a rotunda here upon a
pagan worship site and dedicated it to St Vitus
(svat
†
Vít)
, a Roman saint.
Matthew d'Arras began work on the grand cathedral in 1344 when Prague
was named an archbishopric. He died shortly
thereafter and Charles IV hired the Swabian
wunderkind
Peter Parlé
∫
to take over. With the
intervention of the Hussite Wars, however, work
stopped and, remarkably, construction was only
finally completed in 1929.
Top 10 Features
1 South Tower
2 Wenceslas Chapel
3 Crown Jewels
4 Royal Crypt
5 Royal Oratory
6 St John of Nepomuk's Tomb
7 New Archbishop's Chapel
8 Sigismund
9 Golden Portal
0 High Altar
Great Tower windows
Much of St Vitus's
Cathedral can be
appreciated for free.
Seeing all that the
cathedral and the
castle have to offer
can take a whole day.
South Tower
Visitors can clearly see
at exactly which point the
Hussite civil wars put a stop
to construction of this 96-m
(315-ft) tower. By the time
work resumed, architectural
style had moved into the
Renaissance, hence the
incongruous rounded cap on
a Gothic base.
• Third Courtyard,
Prague Castle
• Map C2
• 224 373368
• www.hrad.cz
• Open Apr-Oct: 9am-
5pm daily, Nov-Mar:
9am-4pm daily
• Nave: Free; St Vitus's
Cathedral, St George's
Basilica, Powder Tower
& Royal Palace: Adm
K≤220
Wenceslas Chapel
This chapel
(left)
stands where Prince
Wenceslas built the first
St Vitus rotunda and
contains the tomb of its
namesake, Bohemia's
patron saint. The fres-
coes of Christ's Passion
on the lower wall are
surrounded by 1,300
semi-precious stones.
Vladislav II commissioned
the upper frescoes of St
Wenceslas's life, painted
to celebrate his son
Ludvik's coronation.
12
For more places of worship in Prague
See pp38-9
