Cathedral of St. Vitus, Wenceslas and Vojtech. Gothic secrets of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic

St. Vitus' Cathedral is a Gothic Catholic cathedral, repository of coronation regalia and tomb of the kings of Bohemia. St. Vitus Cathedral is located in Prague Castle in Hradcany. Hradcany is one of the four historical districts of Prague.

Prague Castle is an ancient fortress-kremlin (castle). In terms of area, it is the largest castle in the world. Prague Castle is the residence of the President of the Czech Republic, former Czech kings and the President of Czechoslovakia. Some Holy Roman Emperors also lived in the residence.

Today Prague Castle is a huge administrative center located on a hill in Hradcany and overlooking Prague and. Prague Castle is the largest presidential residence in the world. The Gothic Catholic Cathedral of St. Vitus is the main architectural dominant of Prague Castle.

St. Vitus Cathedral took 600 years to build. In 925, the first rotunda church was built by St. Wenceslas, who is buried in the Cathedral of St. Vitus (the full name of the cathedral is the Cathedral of St. Vitus, Wenceslas and Vojtěch). Construction officially began in November 1344 under the patronage of King Charles IV of the Czech Republic and Archbishop Ernest of Pardubice and was completed in 1929.

In 1419, the cathedral suffered from the Hussite wars, which is why many icons and sculptures have not survived to this day. Construction was stopped many times not only due to wars, but also due to lack of funds.

The architects who created and built the cathedral are Matthias of Arras, Peter Parler, Joseph Kranner, Joseph Mocker, Camille Gilbert. The great builders of the cathedral are Peter, Wenzel and Johans Parler, Master Petrilk, Alfons Mucha, Franiszek Kisela, and many others. other. The unique architecture of the cathedral is due to the mathematical calculations of Matthias of Arras and the artistic talent of sculpture by Peter Parler.

St. Vitus Cathedral was conceived by its creators as a family crypt, a place for the coronation of Czech kings. The architecture of St. Vitus Cathedral is replete with busts and cornices depicting representatives of the royal dynasty, Czech bishops and Prague architects. The architecture of St. Vitus Cathedral amazes with its Gothic and neo-Gothic splendor. From the outside, this is a building consisting of several towers up to 100 meters high, huge balconies around the perimeter, a round rosette window 10 meters in diameter with biblical drawings, and strikingly decorative vaults. Inside the cathedral, 33 meters high, has stained glass windows, a choir and an altar.

St. Vitus Cathedral is the main architectural and historical monument of ancient Prague, a spiritual landmark of the Czech Republic, and a place of pilgrimage for Catholics from all over the world. Prague Castle in Hradcany hosts various festivals and exhibitions. Near the Cathedral of St. Vitus there is a famous toll gate, known for its small dwarf houses built into the fortress wall. On Golden Street there are souvenir shops, exhibitions and galleries.

In Hradcany, along with the towering St. Vitus Cathedral, there are also such historical sights as the Plague Column with the Virgin Mary and the Church of St. John of Nepomuk, Hradcany Town Hall, Capuchin Monastery on Loreto Square. As well as the Schwarzenberg Palace, Sternberg Palace, Tuscan Palace, Salm Palace and a number of architectural and historical palaces surrounding the modern presidential residence of the Czech Republic and St. Vitus Cathedral.

St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague is the cradle of the early Gothic style, where masterpieces of architecture and art have been preserved, and where the ashes of a thousand years of history rest.

St. Vitus Cathedral photo.

On the high right bank of the Czech capital, Prague Castle rises above the Vltava. Once upon a time it was a defensive defense of the first princes and then kings. Here Prague was born, which became the capital of the Czech state in the 10th century. The soul of Prague Castle is St. Vitus Cathedral. The spire of this magnificent temple rises like a guard over the historical districts of the city, the tiled roofs of houses, the embankment and bridges. The complex is considered one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe, the most significant religious center in the country, an object of love and pride for the townspeople.

general description

St. Vitus Cathedral has a very long history of construction. The temple did not acquire its modern form immediately; it took six centuries, from 1344 to 1929. The building was a project of Gothic architecture, but over the centuries, its decoration and general configuration bore the imprints of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque eras. In different parts of the building you can also see elements of neo-Gothic, classicism and even modernism. But the general architectural style is characterized as Gothic and Neo-Gothic.

Now in the Cathedral of St. Vitus (address: Prague 1-Hradcany, III. nádvoří 48/2, 119 01) there is a chair of the Archbishop of Prague. Since the tenth century, the building has been the residence of the bishops of the Prague diocese, and since 1344 it has been elevated to the level of an archdiocese. On this occasion, the construction of a three-nave Gothic cathedral with three towers began. Despite all the hundred-year efforts, construction with all the changes and additions was completed only in 1929, when work on the western nave, two towers of the central facade and many decorative elements were completed: sculptures and openwork decor of the rose window made of sandstone, stained glass windows, and other details.

Some parts of the cathedral are outstanding works of art from different centuries, including the period of the final works. For example, the mosaic of the Last Judgment, the chapel of St. Wenceslas, the gallery of portraits on the triforium, stained glass and others.

Foundation and first building

The beginning of the history of St. Vitus Cathedral should be considered the year 929. That year, Prince Vaclav founded the first church on the site of the future church. It became the third Christian church in the city. The church was erected on the heights of the acropolis in the fortified village of Prague and dedicated to St. Vitus, an Italian saint, part of whose relics (hand) Prince Wenceslas received from the Duke of Saxony, Henry I the Birdcatcher. This first church was a rotunda, apparently with only one apse.

After the death of Wenceslas, his remains were transferred to the Church of St. Vita upon completion of construction, and, in fact, the prince became the first saint buried in it. In 973, the temple received the status of the main church of the principality of the newly created Prague bishopric. After the expedition (1038) of Bretislav I to the Polish city of Gniezno, the prince brought to the rotunda particles of the relics of John the Baptist, which made up a trio of saints, consecrated and located in the church since then.

The original rotunda, supplemented by southern and northern apses, was demolished due to unsatisfactory dimensions and replaced after 1061 by a basilica. However, small fragments survive under the Chapel of St. Wenceslas, indicating the original location of the tomb of the church founder.

Construction of the basilica

The son of Bretislav I and his heir, Prince Spytignev II, instead of a small rotunda, built a much more representative Romanesque basilica of St. Vitus, Vojtech and the Virgin Mary. According to the chronicler Cosmas, construction began on the feast of St. Wenceslas. Since 1060, a three-nave basilica with two towers was erected on the site of the rotunda, which became the new dominant feature of Prague Castle. It was, in fact, a huge superstructure over the holy graves.

Soon after the start of construction, Prince Spytignev II died, and construction was continued by his son Vratislav II, who became the first Czech king. He himself drew up the design and layout of the building. Construction was completed in 1096. In horizontal plan, the basilica was a cross 70 meters long and 35 meters wide. The structure had two towers, its thick walls and columns dividing the dark space into three naves with a pair of choirs on the east and west sides, and a transverse nave at the west end. The projection of the basilica is clearly visible in the underground of the southern part of today's cathedral, where the richly decorated columns of the western and eastern crypts, fragments of masonry, paving and supporting pillars have been preserved.

Construction of the cathedral begins

On April 30, 1344, Prague was transferred to an archbishopric, and six days later the papal mace was transferred to the Archbishop of Prague, Arnošt Pardubicki, along with the right to crown the kings of Bohemia. And six months later, on November 21, the tenth Czech king John of Luxembourg, in honor of this event, laid the foundation stone of the new cathedral - St. Vitus.

The main architect was 55-year-old Matthias of Arras. Construction began on the east side, where the altar is located, so that it could serve mass as soon as possible. Mathias designed the building according to French Gothic canons. He managed to build a horseshoe-shaped choir with eight chapels, vaults, the eastern part of the long choir with one chapel in the north and two on the south side, arcades and galleries. Construction began on the south side of the building, including the perimeter wall of the Chapel of the Holy Cross, which was initially located separately from the cathedral structure. Everything was created simple and ascetic.

Matthias died in 1352, and from 1356 Peter Parler from Swabia managed the construction. He came from a famous German family of builders and came to Prague at the age of 23. At St. Vitus Cathedral, Parler used an unusual mesh vault supported by ribs that connected into beautiful geometric shapes and became a stand-alone ceiling decoration.

Chapel of St. Wenceslas

Of the entire crown of chapels, the chapel of St. Wenceslas is the most important in the cathedral. This is a separate sanctuary built over the burial place of the founder of the church, who was canonized. The chapel was immediately planned as a repository for royal jewelry and one of the points of the coronation ceremony. The small, almost cubic-shaped room, built into the walls of the church, was designed before Parler. The architect created in the sanctuary a vault previously unknown to architects, the interlacing of the ribs reminiscent of the outlines of stars. The supporting structures were shifted from the corners of the room to the third wall, which was unusual compared to traditional vaults. In addition to the chapel, Parler built the south antechamber in 1368, and on its floor was a secret chamber in which the crown and Bohemian royal jewels were kept. The Chapel of St. Wenceslas was consecrated in 1367 and decorated in 1373.

Further construction

While building the cathedral, Parler also worked on the Charles Bridge and several churches in the capital. The choir was completed in 1385. After his death (1378), Parler continued to operate. When he died (1399), the tower he had installed remained unfinished; only the choir and part of the cathedral's transept were completed. The work of the architect was continued by his sons - Wenzel and Jan, and they, in turn, were replaced by Master Petrilk. They completed the main tower, raising it to a height of 55 meters, and the southern part of the church. But twenty years after the death of the great king, the followers' interest in construction faded away, and the cathedral remained unfinished for another five hundred years.

During the reign of Tsar Władysław II of Jagiellonian (1471-1490), the late Gothic royal chapel was built by the architect Benedikt Reith, and the cathedral was connected to the Old Royal Palace. After the great fire of 1541, many buildings were destroyed and part of the cathedral was damaged. During the next renovation 1556-1561. the unfinished cathedral acquired elements of the Renaissance, and from 1770 a baroque dome of the bell tower appeared.

Completion of construction

Under the influence of romanticism and due to the economic growth of the Czech Republic, it was decided to resume construction. The 1844 project for the reconstruction of the cathedral was presented by the architects Worclav Pesina and Josef Kranner, the latter supervised the work until 1866. He was succeeded until 1873 by Yosef Motzker. The interior was restored, Baroque elements were dismantled, and the western façade was constructed in the late Gothic style. It was possible to achieve a harmonious compositional unity of the entire building. The last architect was Camille Gilbert, who worked until the completion of work in 1929.

Cathedral interior

Inside, the walls of the main nave are vertically divided by triforia (a gallery of narrow openings). On the choir pillars are 21 busts of bishops, monarchs, queens and masters of Peter Parler. Behind the main altar are the tombs of the first Czech bishops and a statue of Cardinal Schwarzenberg by Myslbek.

The southern gallery contains a monumental silver tombstone from 1736, erected to St. John of Nepomuk according to the design of E. Fischer. On either side of the high choir are two large baroque statues depicting the sacking of the temple in 1619 and the escape of the Winter King (1620). In the middle of the nave is the Renaissance mausoleum of Maxmilian II and Ferdinand I with their wife Anna, made by Alexander Collin in 1589. The sides of the mausoleum depict the persons who are buried under it.

The Renaissance organ in St. Vitus Cathedral, destroyed during the Prussian bombardment (1757), was replaced by an instrument from the Baroque period.

Vault and mausoleum

In addition to being a center of religious worship, the temple serves as a treasury for the Czech crown jewels and a royal tomb.

One of the many attractions of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague is the coronation insignia. Czech kings were once crowned here, enthroned. The temple houses royal regalia, the originals of which are put on display every five years in honor of the inauguration. The exception was 2016, when the city celebrated the 700th anniversary of the birth of the great Czech king Charles IV. These are the precious symbols of royal power: the crown and sword of St. Wenceslas, the royal scepter and orb, the coronation cross. All these items are made of gold with abundant decoration with pearls and large precious stones.

In the Cathedral of St. Vitus, future sovereigns were baptized, married, crowned, and their remains were buried here. The sarcophagi of some princes and monarchs are located in the church premises, but most of the rulers found eternal peace in the dungeon of the temple, where the Royal Tomb with tombs is located. In total, the remains of five Czech princes are here, including the founder of the Church of St. Vitus, as well as 22 kings and queens. The temple became the last earthly refuge for many clergy.

Appearance

Now the total width of the cathedral reaches 60 m, and the length along the central nave is 124 m. The large Svyatovitskaya tower on the south side of the building rises to a level of 96.6 m and is the third tallest among church towers in the Czech Republic. The first floor is occupied by the Hazmburk Chapel, above which there is a bell tower and a clock tower. Up to a height of 55 m, the tetrahedral structure is made according to the Gothic model. The upper octagonal part with galleries reflects late Renaissance architecture with Baroque domes. Here, near the tower, is the southern entrance: the Golden Gate of St. Wenceslas Chapel with the famous “Last Judgment” mosaic.

The forms of the rich supporting system and the crowns of the chapels on the north side of St. Vitus Cathedral are a fine example of French Gothic. The spiral staircases in the corners of both transverse naves date back to the late Gothic period.

The western part of the nave and the facade with two towers were built between 1873 and 1929. This part of the church fully corresponds to the neo-Gothic style. While working on St. Vitus Cathedral, many famous sculptors and artists of the Czech Republic took part in decorating its western part: Frantisek Hergesel, Max Švabinsky, Alfons Kastner, Joseph Kalvoda, Karel Svolinsky, Vojtech Sucharda, Antonin Zapotocki and others.

Bells

The bell tower above the Hazemburk Chapel houses seven bells on two floors. They say that their ringing is the voice of Prague. From St. Vitus Cathedral, the bells ring throughout the city every Sunday before morning mass and at noon.

The largest in the whole Czech Republic, and not just in the capital, is the Zikmund bell, named after the patron saint of the country. This giant, with a lower diameter of 256 cm and a total height of 241 cm, reaches a weight of 13.5 tons. To rock such a colossus, the efforts of four bell ringers and a couple more assistants are required. “Zikmund” is heard only on major holidays and on special occasions (presidential funeral, visit of the Pope, etc.). The bell was cast in 1549 by master Tomasz Jarosz on the orders of King Ferdinand I.

On the floor above are the remaining bells.

The Wenceslas Bell of 1542 was cast by masters Ondrež and Matthias of Prague. Height - 142 cm, weight - 4500 kg.

Bell of John the Baptist 1546 from master bellmaker Stanislav. Height - 128 cm, weight - 3500 kg.

Joseph Bell by Martin Nilger. Height - 62 cm.

Three new bells from 2012 from the Ditryczov workshop in Brodka replaced the old bells with the same names, which were removed during the war years from 1916:

• "Dominique" is a bell calling for mass, 93 cm high.
• Bell "Maria" or "Mari".
• "Jesus" is the smallest bell with a height of 33 cm.

Legends of bells

There are many legends about the bells of the Cathedral of St. Vitus.

When the great Czech Caesar Charles IV was dying (1378), the bell on the cathedral tower began to ring on its own. Gradually all the bells of the Czech Republic joined it. Hearing the ringing, the dying king exclaimed: “My children, this is the Lord God calling me, may he be with you forever!”

After the fire of 1541, the Khazemburk Chapel was not used for its intended purpose for a long time and served as a storeroom for the bell ringers. One day a tipsy bell-ringer fell asleep there, but at midnight he was awakened by a ghost who drove the drunkard out of the church. This morning they saw this bell-ringer gray-haired.

The newly cast Zikmund bell was dragged to the castle by 16 pairs of horses chained to a cart specially made for this purpose. But no one knew how to drag him up the bell tower, and besides, not a single rope could withstand such a weight. The bell stood like that for a long time. The country was then ruled by Ferdinand I (1503-1564). His eldest daughter Anna (1528-1590) proposed building a strange machine, with the help of which “Zikmund” was raised to the tower’s bell tower. A strong rope was woven from the braids of Prague girls, including the princess herself. When the scientists wanted to examine the mechanism, Anna ordered them to disperse and break the device.

During the Christian reforms during the reign of Frederick Falk (1596-1632), the cathedral was at the disposal of the Calvinists. Their representatives wanted to ring the St. Vitus bells on Good Friday, which is unacceptable for Catholics. However, the bells were so heavy that it was impossible to swing them. The cathedral administrator got angry and locked the tower so that no one could ring even on Holy Saturday, but the bells rang themselves at the appointed time (from the late Middle Ages until the reform of the 20th century, the Catholic Easter vigil was celebrated on Saturday noon).

The Svyatovitov bells can change their timbre in accordance with the mood of the Czech nation. After the Battle of White Mountain, their ringing sounded so sad that it is said that the deceased Czech saints awoke in the crypts of the cathedral.

It is believed that no one can remove the bells from the tower. Anyone who tries will die, and the bells loaded into the cart will become so heavy that the cart will not move. But local residents are sure: even if this were possible, the bells would return to their place on their own.

The last of the legends belongs to our millennium. There is a legend: if a bell cracks, then the city where it is located is in danger. Prague and most of the Czech Republic experienced major flooding in 2002. Two months before the disaster, the tongue of the Zikmund, a bell that was named after the patron saint of the entire Kingdom of Bohemia, cracked.

Opening hours and transport

Prague Castle is a pedestrian zone. How to get to St. Vitus Cathedral? This can be done in two ways:

• The 22nd tram will take you to the Pražský Hrad stop, from where it is 300 meters to the Prague Castle gate;
• from the Malostranská metro station you should climb 400 meters along the old castle stairs.

You can enter the cathedral every day from nine in the morning to five in the evening. Only on Sundays the temple opens from noon. The south tower is open from ten in the morning until six in the evening.

, - and this happened in 2006 - I was, without exaggeration, stunned by St. Vitus Cathedral. By that time, I had already heard more than once about the main temple in Prague. But when I found myself on the square in front of it, I was amazed by its scope and grandeur. A lot of questions immediately arose: who built all this beauty and how, why they named it in honor of St. Vitus, etc. Perhaps you are also interested in similar questions. Read this article, I will try to answer some of them.

I’ll immediately explain where we will look for answers so that they do not turn out to be an ordinary philistine fantasy. Firstly, over several visits to the Czech Republic I collected a good selection of reference materials on Prague, and secondly, in a small bookstore... on a small... Prague Castle I purchased a reputable publication by Czech historians, “Historical Prague”. By studying this manual and comparing a number of facts, you can understand a lot.

But while we clarify the name, let’s pay a little attention to the cathedral itself. Agree, even from afar you can see how huge and majestic it is:

Cathedral of St. Vitus It took almost 600 years to acquire the form in which it appears today. The first stone was laid by Charles IV in 1344, and the final construction work was completed in 1929. The cathedral was built with long interruptions. During this time, several architects managed to contribute to the design of the appearance and structural components of the cathedral.
There was no need to choose a place to build the temple; it had already been determined by history itself.

Back in 929, ruler Wenceslas, especially revered by the Czechs, built a small stone rotunda dedicated to St. Vitus at the highest point of the fortress. By that time, Vaclav had become imbued with the ideas of Christianity, which was just beginning to spread in Europe. He sought to instill Christian values ​​in his people. Wenceslas's faith was supported by the German king Henry I, who gave him a relic - the relics (part of the hand) of the young Sicilian Vitus, who died for his Christian views in the Roman Empire back in the 3rd century and was canonized.

These are probably rather boring facts, but they are important for understanding why St. Vitus Cathedral is named so. I'll add a little more.

When Vaclav himself died as a result of a conspiracy by his brother, who held different religious views, the people and the church conferred holiness on Vaclav. He was buried in the Svyatovitskaya rotunda. Another person who actively preached Christianity and died for his activities at the end of the 10th century was buried there - the Czech Bishop Vojtěch. And when in 1060 a basilica was erected on the site of the rotunda, they named it in honor of three saints: Vitus, Wenceslas and Vojtech.

When the most enlightened Czech monarch, Charles IV, decided to renovate the entire Prague Castle, the first thing he planned was to erect a grandiose cathedral in the holiest and most revered place - on the square containing the Svyatovitsky rotunda and the surrounding Basilica of the Three Saints. In the future cathedral, the king planned to hold the most solemn ceremonies, as well as store the most valuable state treasures and relics.

The cathedral was dedicated to the same saints as the basilica. And by the way, the current official name honors three saints who gave their lives for Christianity: the Cathedral of St. Vitus, Wenceslas and Vojtech. But how many official names have stuck with the people? A rhetorical question. Even the Czechs don’t remember the full name, and even more so, the temple is known to us as the Cathedral of St. Vitus.

A little history of the construction of St. Vitus Cathedral

Charles IV entrusted the design of the cathedral to the architect of the papal court Mathieu Arrascom. Then his work was continued by a young talented Czech architect Petr Parlerzh. Parlerzh spent 47 years building, then his sons, but they only managed to build the eastern part of the cathedral. If you look at the photo, this is the right part, only reaching the central tower. And the eastern walls of the cathedral look like this:

But Parler's merits are enormous. In I mentioned that Parler built the most important facilities. As for the Cathedral of St. Vitus in Prague, those beautiful vaults that still decorate the temple were constructed based on his design.

He also designed the Golden Gate, decorated with Venetian mosaics and perfectly preserved to this day. for a long time served as the central entrance to the temple. Look at a fragment of a gilded glass mosaic in the photo:

When did that tall central bell tower appear? This is the south tower, and it is really high - 96 m. In any case, it will give you problems when you try to photograph the cathedral in its full “height”. The central tower was worked on even under Parler, but the view that we see today was rebuilt only in 1556-1593. Look at the unusual clocks that adorn the tower. Do you see two dials? And each of them has only one arrow. So, the top one shows only hours, and the disk below shows only minutes. The question suggests itself: what time did I take this picture?

Between the dials there is a refined golden grille, behind which lies the main bell of the cathedral, called Sigmund. Its weight is 16 tons!

So what about our construction? Until the end of the 19th century, the cathedral still ended with a bell tower on the left wing, and there was no trace of those paired towers that represent the western façade of the cathedral. Only in 1873 the architect Joseph Kranner, working in the neo-Gothic style, has begun the last stage of construction. But his life was not enough to complete the construction of the temple at Prague Castle. His successor was Joseph Mocker, which had already become famous by that time for its Gothic reconstruction. This is how the western facade was erected with 82-meter towers and a beautiful rose window 10 m in diameter. Only one cathedral in Europe has such a window, which is larger in size than the rose of St. Vitus Cathedral. This is the temple of St. Tekla -.

Visitors find themselves just in front of the western façade when they enter Prague Castle through the central gate. This is where the main entrance is now.

Visit to the cathedral

To enter St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, you do not need to buy tickets. Only the area for free access, unfortunately, is very limited. It ends at the level of the third chapel. Yes, from here you can see all the beauty of the central nave, the rose window, several stained glass windows of the famous Alphonse Mucha.

But the altar, the royal mausoleum, the silver sarcophagus of John of Nepomuk, many chapels (there are 21 chapels in the cathedral), the organ and many other treasures of the temple are available only with tickets. A must see! Now you have the opportunity to see the interior of the temple by turning to.

The underground part of the Royal Tomb is of particular interest. This is the Crypt, the entrance to which is located closer to the altar next to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Visit? Well, let's say it's not for everyone. All the Czech royals are buried in the Krypt. Personally, I am more attracted to the above-ground space of the cathedral: huge, majestic, beautiful in its strict Gothic lines.

Was I able to shed at least a little light on why St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague was named this way, and who gave this architectural masterpiece to so many generations? Friends, maybe you know some interesting facts about this most significant landmark of Prague. Please share in the comments.

Your euro guide Tatyana

Prague Castle (Prazsky hrad) has been a symbol and outstanding pearl of the Czech Republic for more than a thousand years. Currently, Prague Castle is one of the largest fortified complexes in the world, founded in the 9th century. Every tourist who comes to the Czech Republic strives to see Prague Castle and walk around its territory.

For centuries, Prague Castle was the residence of Czech kings and then presidents. The total area of ​​the complex is 45 hectares, which house towers, picturesque narrow streets and gardens, as well as palace, service, fortification and religious buildings, most of which currently house various museums and exhibitions.

The dominant feature of Prague Castle is the famous and majestic Cathedral of St. Vitus, Wenceslas and Vojtěch.

It is St. Vitus Cathedral that is clearly visible from almost all points of the historical center of Prague. And the panorama of Prague Castle, which can be seen from the observation platforms of old Prague, is an unforgettable sight that remains in the memory for a long time.

Still, a panoramic view of the City is more beautiful than looking at it all up close.

As we have already said, Prague Castle is an entire palace complex consisting of many buildings, cathedrals, squares, streets and other buildings, located on the left bank of the Vltava River near the Lesser Town in one of the historical districts of Prague, the so-called Hradcany.

The main entrance to Prague Castle is located on Hradcanska Square/Hradсanskу namesti. This is the best place to start your tour of the Castle.

In the center of Hradcany Square flaunt central gate of Prague Castle. There is an honor guard at the gate. Every day at 12:00 you can see the ceremonial changing of the guard, then every hour the standard one.

Having passed through the main gate, we find ourselves in a small square (the second courtyard of Prague Castle), more like a hall, surrounded along the perimeter by the walls of buildings.

Currently /Obrazarna Prazskeho hradu is located here.

Previously, stables were located within these walls, but now in the original premises of the former stables you can see paintings by court painters, old masters of the German and Dutch Renaissance, Italian Renaissance and Mannerism, as well as works by artists of the Central European and Dutch Baroque.

In the center the square is decorated Leopold's fountain, which is also called the Lion's Fountain/Kohl's Fountain.

This is also where Chapel of the Holy Cross/Kaple sv. Krize. The Chapel of the Holy Cross was previously called the "treasury". The chapel was called a treasury because in the early 60s of the 20th century it was equipped for the exhibition of the most valuable decorations and treasures that had accumulated in the bins of St. Vitus Cathedral since the 11th century.

Currently, the dominant feature of the chapel is the altar cloth with the image of Christ the size of a full human being. In the photo, the Chapel of the Cross is a white structure, rounded on one side.

Excursions are offered around Prague Castle. Tickets can be purchased at the art gallery box office. You can buy tickets for both large circle A and small circle B, as well as separately for some exhibitions.

Price list for tickets to Prague Castle:

Or you don’t have to buy tickets and walk around the territory for free and see the sights of the City. Moreover, there is nothing particularly interesting in the buildings of Prague Castle, except perhaps St. Vitus Cathedral and Golden Lane, which we recommend seeing. These are the only two points in Prague Castle that we remember and made an impression on.

Leaving the art gallery square, we go straight to the central entrance Cathedral of St. Vitus, Wenceslas and Vojtech/Katedrala sv. Vita, Vaclava a Vojtecha. The huge Gothic cathedral towers over the walls and other buildings of the City, of course, making an indelible impression. You can spend hours looking at the details of the cathedral walking around its perimeter. The cathedral is so huge that it is almost impossible to take a photo of it entirely from the narrow streets of Prague Castle.

The Catholic Cathedral of St. Vitus is the spiritual symbol of the entire Czech state and the pearl of European Gothic architecture. It was founded in 1344 on the site of a Romanesque rotunda. The construction of this monumental building lasted almost 600 years and was completed only in 1929.

The outstanding element of Vitus Cathedral is the St. Wenceslas Chapel, inlaid with semi-precious stones and decorated with paintings, where the remains of St. Wenceslas are buried. And in the dungeon there is a tomb where the Czech kings and archbishops of Prague are buried, as well as the Crown Chamber with royal regalia.

Behind St. Vitus Cathedral there is a small but very cozy Yirzhskaya Square. The main dominant feature of the square is the Basilica of St. George/Bazilika sv. Jiri, it is also called the Basilica of St. George, and the square is St. George's Square.

Basilica of St. George, this is one of the most valuable monuments of Romanesque architecture, the second oldest Prague church, founded around 920. Its dominant feature is two white limestone 41-meter towers: the wide one on the south side is called Adam, and the narrow one on the north side and inclined 40 centimeters is Eve. There is also a museum/Narodni galerie here.

To the right of the Basilica of St. George, you can see a building with a beautiful columned entrance and a semicircular canopy. This is /St. George's Convent at Prague Castle. Currently, within the walls of the monastery you can see the collection of the National Gallery.

From Jiří Square you can clearly see the back side of St. Vitus Cathedral

From the square there are small cafes and souvenir shops located in the buildings along the street.

Turning left from the main street Jirska, we come to the second interesting attraction of the Castle - Golden Lane or as it is also called Zlata ulicka. This street is located near the defensive wall of the Castle, between the White Tower and Daliborka.

This small street with a collection of tiny colorful houses has a fabulous look. Previously, the guards of Prague Castle lived in these once discreet buildings. Later these houses were occupied by master jewelers. It was convenient and safe for them to work and live in a protected area. In these tiny houses they lived with their families, worked and sold their products here. It was then that this street began to be called Golden.

Currently, these houses have been restored and painted with multi-colored bright colors to add ambience. They contain shops and souvenir shops, as well as an exhibition about the life of the street over the past 5 centuries.

There is a beautiful legend that alchemists once lived on Golden Street, who knew how to turn lead into gold and make the elixir of eternal youth for the emperor. Naturally, this is all a fiction, said to attract more tourists.

Entrance to Golden Street is paid before 17:00, after which it is free. They say that after 17:00 everything on the street is closed. We came to Zlata Street at about 18:00, went in for free and the shops were still open. In addition, there was also a defense museum; entry was also free.

Immediately after the turnstile, on the contrary, we enter the first house and find ourselves in a two-story museum

The museum on Golden Street presents exhibits of weapons and armor, belonging to the guards of the City. Naturally, at present all armor is not original, but copies made from sketches.

A small nook in which instruments of torture from the Middle Ages are collected. A terribly impressive sight.

On the street, near the museum there are several exhibits of guns

We leave Golden Street and see the walls of Prague Castle, as if they had not been touched by time and we found ourselves in the Middle Ages. This is perhaps the darkest and grayest place in all of Prague Castle.

Every self-respecting tourist considers it his duty to take a photo with a naked young man, while touching his private part. It is believed that this action attracts good luck, and helps women who have difficulty conceiving to become pregnant.

Immediately behind the sculpture of a naked boy is toy museum, this building previously housed the Burgraff Palace.

Coming out of the courtyard onto Jirska Street, on the right side is the Art Gallery, and straight ahead - East Gate, another entrance to Prague Castle. A gray tower rises above the eastern entrance, it is called Black Tower/Cerna vez, since it, like most of the Castle towers, was mainly used as a prison.

Behind the Eastern Gate is the famous Observation deck, which offers a beautiful view of Mala Strana and the surrounding area.

From the East Gate of Prague Castle and the observation deck it descends Old castle staircase/Stare zamecke schody, which leads to Pod Bruskou street, to the Malostranska metro station. Having gone down the castle stairs, we came out into the center of old Prague.

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As is typical for many religious buildings, St. Vitus Cathedral did not arise out of nowhere. About 4 centuries before it, a compact round temple in the Romanesque style was built, and later a more spacious basilica, in which the monarchs of the first Czech Přemyslid dynasty were crowned. The new building, founded in 1344, was faced with no less serious tasks: the cathedral was to become a place for the coronation and resting place of royalty, and at the same time - the main treasury of the country.

The famous Flemish architect Matthias from Arras began work on the project, but due to his death, the task was entrusted to the German specialist Peter Parler, who determined the architectural appearance of the entire historical center of Prague. His works include the Charles Bridge and the Church of All Saints in the capital, as well as many small churches in the Czech Republic and Germany. The new master was an experienced sculptor, so he emphasized the volumetric decor of the cathedral. By the end of his life, he managed to complete only part of the transept and the choir. The architect's sons completed the construction of the southern side of the temple and part of the tower. He was unable to complete what he started; his plan was too ambitious. In the following centuries, construction progressed extremely slowly due to financial reasons or due to military actions.

In the 15th – 16th centuries, work on St. Vitus Cathedral was continued by the architects B. Reith and B. Wohlmuth. Thanks to their efforts, the northern part of the cathedral with a tower was built, which made it possible to hold services and perform ceremonies in the still unfinished temple.

Construction of the cathedral was completed only at the beginning of the 20th century. The western part was completed by Czech architects according to the design of Peter Parler. The main work on the decoration of the temple was completed by 1929.

Name of the cathedral

Saint Vitus, the patron saint of the temple, was a Roman martyr from the times of early Christianity, who had no direct connection to the Czech Republic. In 1997, in honor of the millennium since the death of Bishop Adalbert of Prague, or, in the Czech tradition, Vojtěch, the cathedral received a new name - St. Vitus, Wenceslas and Vojtěch. Wenceslas is also a significant figure: he is a prince from the Premyslid family, the patron saint of the Czech Republic. Tourists, however, still use the old name under which the temple became famous throughout the world.

The significance of the temple for modern Czech Republic

Each new era added its own characteristic features to St. Vitus Cathedral. A new surge of patriotic feelings in the 19th century forced the Czechs to once again return to the issue of completing construction. A group of architects, experts in Gothic architecture, designed the western part of the building as close as possible to the original. Bright stained glass windows in the northern part of the cathedral appeared already in the 20th century. Finally, only in 1929, construction was officially completed. Now it is the largest museum and religious center in the capital, an organ hall with excellent acoustics, a repository of Czech history and a symbol of the unity of the nation. Important ceremonies are still held here, such as the farewell to Vaclav Havel, the first president of the Czech Republic.

Elements of the facade of St. Vitus Cathedral

Architectural features

You can appreciate the gigantic size of the building from afar when admiring the panorama of Prague. Up close, due to the dense development of the square, it is impossible to take in the entire building and take a full-fledged general photograph of the dark Gothic walls with patina-covered baroque copper domes. To appreciate the beauty of the cathedral, you have to constantly walk with your eyes raised to the sky - perhaps this was the architects' intention. The length of the temple is 124 m, the height of the towers is from 82 to 96.5 m. The round rosette window on the façade of the cathedral, one of the last additions of the 20th century, reaches 10 m in diameter.

The grandeur of the building is fully realized when guests find themselves inside. High vaults, pointed arches and windows preserved from the Middle Ages, mysterious galleries in the side naves, separated from the main space by powerful columns - all this can be looked at for hours. Light penetrates the interior of the cathedral through colorful stained glass windows inspired by biblical history. The latest of them were made by masters based on sketches by Alphonse Mucha, the greatest Czech artist of the Art Nouveau era. In the upper tiers along the perimeter of the temple there is a balcony with busts: not only monarchs and church leaders, but also architects who participated in the construction are depicted for history.

Royal regalia

An exact copy of the crown of St. Vaclav

St. Vitus Cathedral still remains the repository of royal treasures, although the Czech Republic has long ceased to be a monarchy. The Chapel of St. Wenceslas, built during the time of Charles IV by Peter Parler (finished by 1367), is called a treasure trove of Gothic art. Here lies the body of the eternal ruler and defender of the country, and above the chapel in the Crown Chamber, the golden crown of St. Wenceslas, consisting of 4 heraldic lines, decorated with large stones - blood-red spinels and rubies, bottomless blue sapphires and dark green ones, is carefully protected from prying eyes. emeralds. Legend says that anyone who wears it incorrectly will not live a year. They say that only Hitler’s protector R. Heidrich decided to do this, and less than a year later he died in an assassination attempt (1942). A masterpiece of jewelry, slightly oversaturated with jewelry, was created in the 14th century, a more modest orb with reliefs from the history of King David and Adam and a scepter - somewhat later. Relics are put on display no more than once a decade, but as a consolation to tourists, exact copies of the royal regalia are on display. You can see them in the Sejm Meeting Hall, in the Old Royal Palace, located right next to the southern wall of the cathedral.

Cathedral spire Organ of St. Vitus Cathedral

The temple vault is supported by 28 columns. Twenty masters at different times created stained glass paintings for the temple, among them was the modernist Alphonse Mucha. The organ of St. Vitus Cathedral is considered one of the most beautiful in Europe.

The walls of the chapel are decorated with elaborate frescoes, decorated with gold and mosaics made of gems. In the middle there is a figure of St. Wenceslas in battle armor.

Stained glass by Alphonse Mucha

In the choir chapels you can see the tombstones of Czech rulers and bishops. In the chapel of St. Mary Magdalene lie the remains of Mathieu of Arasse and Peter Parler. In the chapel of John of Nepomuk there is a tombstone made of silver weighing about two tons. There are 23 chapels in the cathedral.

The space of the temple is divided in two by a triforium. This balcony-gallery divides St. Vitus Cathedral horizontally into the earthly part and the celestial sphere. The triforium contains busts of representatives of royal dynasties, archbishops and architects - the creators of the cathedral.

In front of the main altar, created in the 19th century by the masters Kranner and Moker, there is a white marble tombstone by the Dutchman Moline (1589). Its lid is decorated with relief images of Ferdinand I, his wife Anna Jagiellonka, and their son Maximilian II. This is the above-ground part of the mausoleum - below is the royal crypt. The entrance to it opens from the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

Descending into the crypt, visitors will see the remains of the foundation of the old rotunda, discovered by archaeologists. There is also a royal crypt with sarcophagi of Charles IV, Wenceslas IV, George of Podebrady, Rudolf II and other rulers of the Czech Republic.

St. Vitus Cathedral is one of the must-see attractions on a tour of Prague Castle.

Tourist information

The cathedral is open to guests from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the peak tourist season, from April to October. From November to March it closes earlier at 16:00. On Sunday, visitors are expected from noon. Entrance to St. Vitus Cathedral is free, but you can see all the chapels and secret rooms only as part of a paid tour of Prague Castle. An acquaintance with the so-called “small district” costs 250 Czech crowns, the “large” one – 350. The temple holds organ music concerts according to a special schedule, which can be clarified on the official website.

How to get there

Prague Castle is closed to transport, so tourists have to walk a lot. To get to St. Vitus Cathedral, the most convenient way is to get off at tram stop number 22 “Prague Castle”. The tram in Prague is the main type of public transport, along with the metro; during the opening hours of the temple it runs strictly on schedule, on average once every 10 minutes. From the stop you need to walk about 300 m to the south, turning east immediately after the Prague Castle Picture Gallery. If you still have energy after visiting the cathedral, you can visit this interesting museum with paintings by Titian and Rubens for 150 crowns.