Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Built over a timespan of almost 600 years, St Vitus is one of the most impressive
and richly endowed cathedrals in central Europe. It is pivotal to the religious and
cultural life of Prague and the Czech Republic, housing treasures that range
from the 14th-century Bohemian crown jewels to glowing art-nouveau stained
glass, and the tombs of Bohemian saints and rulers from St Wenceslas and St
John of Nepomuk to emperors Charles IV and Rudolf II.
The Nave
The foundation stone of the cathedral was laid in 1344 by Emperor Charles IV, on the
site of a 10th-century Romanesque rotunda dedicated to St Wenceslas. The architect,
Matthias of Arras, began work on the choir in the French Gothic style, but died eight
years later. His German successor, Peter Parler - a veteran of Cologne's cathedral -
built most of the eastern part, but it was only in 1861 that a concerted effort was made
to complete the project - everything between the western door and the crossing was
built during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was finally consecrated in 1929.
Inside, the nave is flooded with colour from stained-glass windows created by
eminent Czech artists of the early 20th century - note the one by art-nouveau artist
Alfons Mucha in the third chapel on the northern side (to the left as you enter), which
depicts the lives of Sts Cyril and Methodius (1909). Nearby is a wooden sculpture
of the crucifixion (1899) by František Bílek.
Walk up to the crossing, where the nave and transept meet, which is dominated by
the huge and colourful south window (1938) by Max Švabinský, depicting the Last
Judgment - note the fires of Hell burning brightly in the lower right-hand corner. In
the north transept, beneath the baroque organ, are three carved wooden doors decor-
ated with reliefs of Bohemian saints , with smaller panels beneath each saint de-
picting their martyrdom - look on the left-hand door for St Vitus being tortured in a
cauldron of boiling oil. Next to him is the martyrdom of St Wenceslas; he is down on
one knee, clinging to a lion's-head door handle, while his treacherous brother
Boleslav drives a spear into his back. You can see that very door handle on the other
side of the church, on the door to the Chapel of St Wenceslas.
DON'T MISS...
» Stained glass by Alfons Mucha
» South window
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