St Vitus's Cathedral, Prague

St Vitus cathedral and its gothic spires can be seen from almost everywhere in Prague center. It is located in the heart of Prague castle , on the opposite side of the Vltava river , overlooking the old town center. I didn'd get to visit the inside of it as we were always too late. But the outside is beautiful.

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All I knew about St. Vitus up to now is that there is a disease named after him, St. Vitus dance, otherwise known as Sydenham chorea, in which the patient makes jerky movements that look vaguely like some sort of dance. It turns out that St. Vitus dance is a sign of acute rheumatic fever and occurs mainly in girls before puberty.

St. Vitus himself was a saint from Sicily about whom little is known, except that he died as a martyr in the year 303. By some accounts he was a seven- or twelve-year-old boy when he was killed.

The St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague is within the castle walls. It is included in both the "short visit" and the "long visit" admission tickets. Actually you can enter the cathedral without a ticket and just stand in the back behind the pews, which is what a lot of people do, but then there is a barrier where you have to show your ticket to go further.

Second photo: Stained glass windows in St. Vitus Cathedral.

What not to miss on the visit to the Cathedral - even if you only have a short time exploring. On my first trip, had 30 minutes tops to see the entire Cathedral, inside and outside, and found the below just about manageable, photo opportunities included. Of course, this means I did not have much time to linger, so a second visit was in order

Sights to look out for in the Cathedral:

- Rose window on the outside of the Cathedral (main facade)
- Stained glass (one of my preferred photographic subjects even then)
- St. Wenceslas Chapel, which houses the relics of the Saint, and has numerous paintings of his life and good works
- Czech coronation jewels
- Czech royal tombs
- The Golden Gate
- The Great Organ

Favourite experience:

If you can, try to visit in the afternoon on a clear sunny day - the soft light coming in through the stained glass windows is wonderful

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This is 1 of the oldest, and probably the most beautiful, edifices on the Old continent.

The building started in 1344, on the place of the 10th-century rotunda, and lasted 6 centuries (completed between 1873 and 1929).

This magnificent Gothic Cathedral is 124m long, 61m wide, and its bell tower is 100m tall. It’s got numerous chapels, frescoes, stone tombs and wonderful stained-glass windows.

All Bohemian kings are buried here.

At the entrance of the Cathedral, there’s the Golden Gate with the rich and vivid mosaics.

You can climb 287 steps up to the top and admire the view over the city.

Opening hours: 9-17 (9-16 in winter), except when there are some concerts.

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Be sure to spend the 100 Kc to get full access to St Vitus Cathedral. Without the ticket you are limited to viewing the interior of the church from the rear and you will miss the great close up views in the nineteen beautifully decorated chapels, complete with painted or stained glass. Take as much time as you like to admire the art, achitecture, and beauty of the interior of St. Vitus.

Spend time gazing at the bejeweled walls of St Wenceslas Chapel. Note the door at the back of the chapel - this leads to the special room that holds the crown jewels.

Go below the main floor to view the ancient burial crypts. This will really give you a perspective of the history present in this buidling.

Study the website before you go. There is much to see, and we missed a lot. You can likely spend an entire day here (combining other Castle attractions, of course). I would suggest arriving early on a weekday. Even in November the crowds will be big on the weekends.

The many gargoyles poking out grotesquely are a harmless, one hopes, but worrisome feature and especially interesting when it rains; the water pours down from their ugly mouths.They looks really orribles..!!
But pollon told me they are nice sometimes...NICE??????...Chiara, but...do you are sure about it???...they do not seem so nice..!

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To many people, St. Vitus Cathedral is Prague Castle. While the enormous Prague Castle complex includes many fine buildings, St. Vitus is the one that dominates the city skyline and is visible from far and wide.

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When you come up to Prague Castle, St Vitus Cathedral is one of the first to be visited. If you don't want to spend a penny, you can enter the cathedral nave and from there you can take some pictures. But, of course, I suggest getting the necessary ticket and having full access to the cathedral. It is as impressive as other cathedrals around Europe and it is definitely worth a visit.