Vysehrad, Prague

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Full of fascinating memorials to the famous (Smetana, Mucha, Dvorak) and the not-so-famous and the almost-entirely-unknown (and many monks and nuns too), this is a fascinating place.

The memorial art alone makes it worth a visit. I've made a travelogue with more photos.

Wander the rows of graves and just enjoy the art. Some of it, sadly, has obviously been stolen at some point...there were some pretty famous artists involved in creating some of the memorials.

But there is plenty more left to see, and the cemetery has a helpful map at the entrance so you can find specific graves.

Tram 3, 7, 16 or 17 along the riverside to stop 'Vyton' then either walk up Vratislavova or take the steep steps up from Rasinovo Nabrezi. The cemetery is right by the church of svPetr and Pavel, with its two unmissable Gothic towers.

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Take a tram (3, 7, 16, 17) along the riverside to what legends say is the first place Slavic tribes settled in Prague.

Set on its rocky crag overlooking the Vltava river, with superb views of the city, the fortress of Vysehrad is a lovely place for a wander. You can walk almost all of its ramparts for those supoerb views, there are grassy spaces and shady trees, four massive statues which once stood on the nearby bridge.......and several cafes.

For me, the main reason for visiting was to explore the Vysehrad cemetery (see next tip) but I was pleasantly surprised at how much more the fortress had to offer.

A good escape from the busy city centre: if it's a nice day, take a picnic!

Final resting place of one of the world's best and most prolific composers, Antonin Dvorak. He and his wife Anna are buried in the pantheon of the Slavin cemetary of Kostel Sv Petra a Pavla in Vysehrad complex. The pantheon with its beautiful neo-gothic arches and wrought iron craftsmanship, forms the outer boundary of the cemetary. Many other famous and accomplished Bohemians are also buried in the cemetary. Near the cemetary gate located closest to the cathedral can be found a map showing the location of each tomb.

Dvorak was the son of the Nelahozevez village innkeeper and butcher. Antonin himself became a journeyman butcher. His many contributions include helping the United States to establish a classical musical identity. He died at the age of 63 from a heart attack, although he also likely had cirrhosis of the liver. He was known to have had a great love of pivo ( beer ).

It is interesting to note that the Czech Republic and seven other former soviet bloc nations were admitted to the European Union on May 1, 2004, the 100th anniversery of Dvorak's passing. What a painful and tragedy laden 100 years it was for these great nations. May the next century be a time of peace, liberty, and prosperity for all of them.

Composer Bedrich Smetana, who is best known for his symphonic poems of the fatherland including Vlatava, is also buried in the Slavin cemetary. Smetana was from the Bohemian city of Plzen, where his father was one of the early brewmasters of Plzen ( Pilsner ) beer. Smetana tragically died of Syphilis in 1884, at the age of 60.

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Equestrian sculpture of St Vaclav (St Wenceslas) created in the second half of 17th century by the first important Bohemian Baroque sculptor Jan Jiri Bendl had been located on Wenceslas Square, but it had been transferred to Vysehrad in 1879. This sculpture is quite unusual comparing it to the Equestrian sculpture of St Wenceslas by Josef Vaclav Myslbek – the most famous one (now on Wenceslas Square).

Bendl's sculpture can be seen in a distant northwest corner of Vysehrad hill.

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Vysehrad is - beside the Hradcany castle - the other important fortified place in Prague. Nowadays it is a place for recreation for locals as well as - few - tourists who enjoy the remaining buildings like castle walls, old churches, the historic cemetery, garden and cafés/restaurants.

The area is easy to reach by metro, stop Vysehrad. From there it is just a five minutes walk to the Tabor Gate from 1655. Highlight for me was the small Romanesque church St. Martin. Very beautiful architecture, unfortunately only open for services.

Definitely take a walk along the walls from where you can enjoy gorgeous views of Prague. Also, visit the Historic cemetery with graves of many famous Czechs, like A. Dvorak, B. Smetana, A. Mucha, K. Capek etc.

The big Neo-Gothic church St. Peter and Paul that dominates the Vysehrad hill is only open on weekends as far as I could see. I didn't have a chance to see the interior, but I guess it must be nice - probably great colourred stain-glass windows. The main portal is impressive with its mosaic works.

Vysehrad is the place of the venues of many legends about Libuse, mythical ancestor of the Premyslid dynasty and the Czech people as whole. Libuse and her husband, prince Premysl, ruled peacefully over the Czech lands from the hill of Vysehrad. The most famous legend is one about Libuse's prediction – she stood on a cliff overlooking the Vltava, pointed to a forested hill across the river, and proclaimed: "I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars".

So called Libuse's Bath is, actually, ruin of a 14th century watchtower, an outpost on Vysehrad rock guarding approach to Prague by water. It was supposedly from there that the princess cast her lovers down into the river.

One of the finest examples of Czech cubism in architecture is corner house at crossing of Premyslova and Neklanova streets. It was projected by architect Josef Chochol. It can be easily reached on a way down from Vysehrad hill.

Gothic cellar, underground space of the Baroque citadel with fragments of masonry of mediaeval palace buildings, houses permanent exposition Historic Forms of Vysehrad. This exposition offers the great overview of Vysehrad fortress history and mythology.

Gothic cellar is on Vysehrad hill, near Church of St Peter and St Paul.