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Katedrala sv. Vita, Vaclava a Vojtecha
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My favourite part of our visit to Prague's castle was St Vitus’s Cathedral. This magnificent gothic cathedral is one of the prominent landmarks in Prague - you can see its main towers from across the city. It is the largest cathedral in the Czech Republic.
Inside you can see the impressive High Alter and some pretty impressive painted glass windows. There is also the Chapel of St Wenceslas and the silver tomb of St John of Nepomuk.
The outside is what captivated me so much...spectacular...and the subject of a large number of photos! Leave a Comment Directions: Nearest metro: Malostranska or HradcanskaWebsite: www.hrad.cz
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 Window in St Vitus'
Cathedral by Rachael71Leave a Comment Directions: Prague Castle
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 St. Vitus's Cathedral by iwys
The building has been developed, over the centuries, around the tomb of St. Wenceslas. St. Vitus's Cathedral was founded, by order of the Holy Roman Emperor, King Charles IV, the same man responsible for the construction of Charles Bridge, in 1344, on the site of an earlier church. There has been a religious building here ever since St. Wenceslas was buried on the hill, more than a thousand years ago.
Even earlier than that, this was an important pagan site, where Svatovit, the Slavic God of Fertility was worshipped. When the Slavs converted to Christianity, the name Svatovit was changed to the nearest-sounding saint's name, which happened to be svaty Vita, or St. Vitus in English.
Amazingly, construction was not finally completed until 1929, although, even when I was there, in 2001, there was still scaffolding and a lot of maintenance building work taking place.
The architect who designed the fourteenth century, Gothic structure, was the Frenchman, Matthew of Arras. When he died, his work was taken up by Peter Parler.
Inside there is a sombre, 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. Leave a Comment Directions: The middle of Prague Castle
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Passing through the magnificent Baroque Mathias Gate to the Castle Courtyards and the Royal Palace, we come to the magnificent ST. VITUS CATHEDRAL wherein the Wenceslas Chapel houses the relics of the Czech Patron Saint.
"The Gothic Cathedral is an exceptional achievement. The structure, dark with age and solemnity, was meant not only as the principal church of the Castle but also as the spiritual centre of the whole country." -- V. Dudak.
I couldn't have said it better myself. Leave a Comment Directions: Prague Castle
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Saint Vitus Cathedral is a cathedral in Prague and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. The full name of the cathedral is St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral. Located within Prague Castle and containing the tombs of many Bohemian kings, this cathedral is an excellent example of Gothic architecture and is the biggest and most important church in the country.
The Gothic Cathedral that now stands was founded on 21st of November, 1344, when Prague bishopric was raised to an archbishopric
Through most of the following centuries, the cathedral stood only half-finished. It was built up to the great tower and a transept, which was closed by a provisional wall. In the place of a three-aisled nave-to-be-built, a timber-roofed construction stood, and services were held separately there from the interior of the choir.
Only by the time of St Wenceslas jubilee in 1929, the St Vitus cathedral was finally finished; it took almost 600 years to built it. Despite the fact that entire western half of Cathedral is a Neo-Gothic addition, much of the design and elements developed by Peter Parler were used in the restoration, giving the Cathedral as a whole a harmonious, unified look. Leave a Comment
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 St. Vitus Cathedral by maple_air
Figures:
3 -> churches have been on this site:
1st, a chapel in 925, founded by Prince Wenceslas.
2nd, a Romanesque basilica, completed the following century.
3rd, is the present Gothic structure, begun by Charles IV, 1344.
21-> total chapels in this cathedral
28-> piers supporting the roof, with 3 tiered domes, which holds the SIGISMUND, the largest bell in Bohemia.
297-> steps leading to the top of the tower
108 ft.-> height above the nave
407 ft.-> length of the cathedral Leave a Comment Directions: Prague Castle
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 St. Vitus towers above
the crowds by zrim
But what about the great cathedrals of the world. These soaring structures were not built overnight. In fact, the building and rebuilding of the St. Vitus Cathedral has been going on for something like a 1000 years now. When I think on all of the artisans over the centuries that dedicated their lives to the work of raising the cathedral--I come back to my analgoy of the tree. Not many of those skilled workers had any hopes of seeing a finished project, but yet they toiled on. What drove them? Faith? Wages? The threat of excommunication?
In any event the cathedral was not consecrated until 1929--fully 1000 years after the death of St. Wenceslas, the man who first chose this site overlooking the Vltava as the perfect place to build a grand church. Since 1929 there have been many dark days in Prague with the annexation of the "Sudetenland" by Hitler and the subsequent time behind the Iron Curtain following World War II. Prague shook off the domineering mantle of communism in 1989 (a government that shunned religion) but the people have not returned to organized religion. It is said that less than 2% of Czechs practice a religion.
So for all the tremendous effort to raise this glorious cathedral over centuries and centuries--it all just boils down to a rather gigantic curiosity. The form is there, but really without function. Leave a Comment Directions: In the Prague Castle complex
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 ST. Vitas by littlesam1Leave a Comment Directions: Prague Castle
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 Photo #1: Katedrala sv.
Vita viewed from the rear by hundwalder,
2 more photos
The original Romanesque Rotunda of svaty Vita was commissioned by King Wenceslas I in AD 925. The 22 year old monarch was murdered by his brother shortly after, and was entombed in the rotunda upon its completion. Construction of the cathedral was initiated in 1344 by the ambitious King Karluv IV. The cathedral was built to contain the original rotunda. Although most of the cathedral was completed within 200 years, it was not officially dedicated until 1929.
The architecture of the enormous cathedral is mainly Gothic, as is evidenced by the numerous bold vertical arches that dominate both the interior and exterior. The architecture is heavily influenced by the Byzantine and Venezian disciplines. Most of the beautiful Venezian stained glass windows were crafted about 150 years ago. Literally hundreds of scuptures of gargoyles, saints, etc. adorn the exterior corners.
Construction of Wentzel Tower lasted from 1406 until 1770. The upper section of the bell tower has a characteristic Rokoko double columned capital design. The two attached small towers help give Wentzel Tower a truly unforgetable appearance.
Photo #1 shows the massive cathedral from the rear. The copper mosaic roofs over the central nave and rear chapel are true art masterpieces. The photo was made in 2002 while scaffolding for cleaning was in place. Photo #2 shows the bell tower. Notice the onion domed domes on the rooms atop the four corners of the tower. The intricate detail of the Gothic arches is much more noticeable in this photo. The photo was made in April, 2003, after most of the sandblast cleaning was completed. Notice the difference in the appearance of the cathedral.
Photo #3 is a closeup view of the cathedral's lesser towers. The ornate Gothic exhuberance that dominated religious architecture during that era is evident. Leave a Comment Directions: Prague Castle. Enjoy the scenic climb to the castle or ride tram #22 if you are not up for the climb.
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Just on the heart of the Castle you will find the amazing Cathedral inside and outside :-) Take a look to the photos i took.
The entry to the church is free but you will not avail to rest on the floor or at the seats because the guards won't let you. I was so tiered because i walked until there (maybe 2 km) that i couldn't resist to sit on the floor, but i had to hear " get up, it is not allowed to sit there!"
Anyway, you will find some benches outside to rest a while. Leave a Comment Directions: Prague Castle
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