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St Vitus Cathedral

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travelprone
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St Vitus's Cathedral (Chram SV. Vita)

  • July 29, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Gwilym Owen from London, England
St Vitus's Cathedral (Chram SV. Vita)

Easily the most distinctive landmark in the city, St Vitus's soars above the walls of Prague Castle around it...

Built in 1344 by Charles IV on the site of the original Rotunda of St Vitus, erected by St Wenceslas in 925, the cathedral was finally completed in the early 20th century.

It is a huge Neo-Gothic masterpiece spanning a thousand years of history and absolutely crammed with religious artifacts, works of art and items of historical significance.

Probably the main sight within the cathedral is the sumptuously decorated Chapel of St Wenceslas, containing his bejewelled tomb.

Other major sights include:

The remarkable chancel built by Peter Parler (he of Charles Bridge fame).

A carved wooden panel showing the city of Prague in intricate detail, called 'Flight of Frederick of the Palatine' - my favourite because I love staring at maps for hours on end.

Tomb of St John Nepomuk (pictured below), made from solid silver and honouring the man who ended up murdered and thrown into the Vltava River for his troubles!

The Crypt where Charles IV and his wives are buried.

Also there are many brilliant stained glass windows including one by Alfons Mucha, the King of Art Nouveau - somewhat unaccountably I missed this because I didn't realise it was there...!

No matter - I shall see it next time I'm in Prague! ;-)

From journal Back in Time in Prague. . .

Editor Pick

St. Vitus’ Cathedral

  • July 14, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by LenR from Townsville, Australia
St. Vitus’ Cathedral

Undoubtedly, one of the top attractions within the castle is St. Vitus’ cathedral. The 650-year history of this building began when the archbishopric was founded in 1344. Charles IV decided he wanted an important Gothic cathedral and he commissioned French architect Matthias of Arras to design and build his cathedral. Unfortunately, Matthias died after 8 years but the work was taken over by Peter Parler, then later by his sons. By the mid 15th century, much of the building was completed including the choir, its chapels and part of the south tower but work virtually stopped until the early 1860s when a Czech patriotic association took up the task of completing the building. It was finally completed in 1929.

The church today is the largest in Prague, the metropolitan church of the archdiocese of Prague, the royal burial church, and where the royal regalia is kept. It is also a significant tourist attraction. Before you enter, take a good look at the doorways. The most impressive is the southern doorway where there is a carving called the Mosaic of the Last Judgment. It is from the 14th century.

Inside there is a somber, vaulted nave, illuminated by Venetian, stained glass windows, most of which are fairly recent additions. The Chapel of St Wenceslas was built over his tenth century tomb, in the fourteenth century. It's decorated with more than 1,300 semi-precious stones. The Czech crown jewels are stored in a locked chamber to one side of the chapel. The chancel, built by Parler, is incredibly beautiful as are the stained glass windows, which are newer and of an art nouveau design. Visitors can climb 297 steps to the top of the soaring tower.

You can rent a 'radio guide' that tells you all about the things you are seeing. This is very interesting, but incredibly detailed and you don’t really need it. Tour guides are everywhere and there is little evidence of peace and calm inside the Cathedral during the day. This is another place to visit early ahead of the largest crowds. By early I suggest you start at 9am when the complex is opened to the public.

In the Third Courtyard just south of the cathedral is Plecnik’s 16m high granite monolith dedicated to the victims of World War 1.

From journal Enjoying Prague Castle and Environs

St. Vitus Cathedral

  • September 5, 2005
  • Rated 4 of 5 by tracineb from Amesbury, Massachusetts
This cathedral will take your breath away. There is no way to capture the beauty and overwhelming amount of history and artwork that are present in this one cathedral. Each time you visit, you find something you missed the first time. And the entire city is all about the cathedrals, so visiting this one is just the beginning.

From journal Prague, Czech Republic

Editor Pick

St. Vitus Cathedral

  • July 12, 2005
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Webgoddess from Burke, Virginia
St. Vitus Cathedral

St. Vitus's Cathedral is the largest and the most important church in Prague. The remains of provincial patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen, and archbishops are interred here.

Visitors enter the cathedral through the portal in the western facade, opposite the passageway between the Second and Third Courtyards of Prague Castle.

Its bronze door is decorated with reliefs with scenes from the history of the cathedral and from the legends about St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert.

The neo-Gothic part of the cathedral consists of the main nave and the narrow side aisles, lined with chapels, and the northern wing of the transverse nave. The cathedral is probably on the must-see list of every visitor to Prague. You can rent a radio guide that tells you all about the things you are seeing. This is very interesting, but incredibly detailed - in the end, we preferred to use our guidebook for snippets of information and just absorb the surroundings. Also, the guide is time-limited, so you may find yourself racing across the castle grounds to return it before the deadline!

From journal A city that never ceases to amaze

St. Vitus Cathedral

  • April 13, 2005
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Krys T from Somerset, United Kingdom
St. Vitus Cathedral

Read the guidebooks for the historical facts. But it is impressive. The Mucha window is worth seeing too. The best bit, however, is the 287-step climb to the top of the tower. Now - the climb can be a pai - crowded, spiral, and so on... but the views at the top more than make up for that.

From journal Prague to Perfection

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