Prague Monuments - Sightseeing in Prague

St. George's Basilica originated as the second church at Prague Castle. Only the foundations of the building, founded about 920 by Prince Vratislav I have been preserved. When the convent for Benedictine nuns was founded in 973 the church was enlarged and reconstructed.

The interior of the basilica is Romanesque, austere and monumental. The tombs of members of the Premyslid dynasty of princes are situated in the main nave.
The southern side of the chancel is adjoined by St. Ludmila's Chapel. The convent has a simple and soberly decorated Early Baroque facade. From the eastern branch of the cloister access can be gained to St. Anne's Chapel in the convent.

The Spanish Synagogue (Španelská Synagóga) was built in 1868 on the site of the oldest Prague Jewish house of prayer ("the Old Shul"). It was designed in a Moorish style by Vojt?ch Ignátz Ullmann. The synagogue has a regular square plan with a large dome surmounting the central space. On three sides there are galleries on metal structures, which fully open onto the nave. The remarkable interior decoration features a low stucco arabesque of stylized Islamic motifs which are also applied to the walls, doors and gallery balustrades. The interior, together with the stained glass windows, were designed by architects A. Baum and B. Munzberg and completed in 1893. František Škroup, the composer of the Czech national anthem, served as organist here in 1836-45.

By reopening the Spanish Synagogue - closed for over 20 years - on the 130th anniversary of its establishment, the Jewish Museum in Prague has completed one of its most ambitious projects to date.

The Spanish Synagogue is part of the Jewish Museum of Prague.

St. Vitus Cathedral (Katedralá sv. Vita)

St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest and the most important temple in Prague. Apart from religious services the coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place in here. The cathedral is a place of interment of remains of provincial patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen and archbishops.

The cathedral is the third church consecrated to the same saint on the identical site. About the year 925 Prince Vaclav I founded a Romanesque rotunda here which after 1060 was converted into a basilica with three naves and two steeples. The importance of the cathedral grew especially after the establishment of the Prague bishopric in 973 and the founding of the body of canons - the St. Vitus chapter, which later became an important cultural and administrative institution.
In 1344 Charles IV began the construction of a Gothic cathedral. Its first builders, Matthias of Arras and later Peter Parler, built the chancel with a ring of chapels, St. Wenceslas Chapel, the Golden Portal and the lower part of the main steeple.
In spite of the endeavours of some sovereigns to secure the continuation of the construction work the cathedral remained uncompleted for whole centuries. The main steeple was crowned with a Renaissance helmet and the music choir was built. The facade of the cathedral was provisionally closed.
It was not until the latter half of the 19th century that the Union for the Completion of the Building of St. Vitus Cathedral began the repair of the original part and the completion of the building of the cathedral in Neo-Gothic style. The cathedral was solemnly consecrated in 1929. Its interior was subjected to adaptations even in later years.
Visitors enter the cathedral through the portal in the western facade, opposite the passage-way 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 chapels have stained glass windows. The construction of the large southern steeple was started by Peter Parler, but he did not complete it. It gained its originally planned height after being provided with a Renaissance helmet in the 16th century. St. Wenceslas's Chapel partly reaches on to the area of the transverse nave. The different conception of its architecture and its magnificent decoration emphasize its importance as the central point of the cathedral as a whole. The solemn entrance to the cathedral, the Golden Portal, affords access to the chapel from the Third Courtyard.
Situated in the chancel of the cathedral, in front of the high alter, is the royal mausoleum below which, in the crypt, there is the royal tomb. The chancel is surrounded by a ring of Gothic chapels. Czech sovereigns and patron saints are interred in some of them.

St. Nicholas Church (Kostel Sv Mikulase)

Not to be confused with the church standing on the Old Town Square (Staré Mesto), St Nicholas church of Malá Strana is a truly grandiose affair, not only boasting one the finest cupolas in town, but a lovely façade and lavish, cherub-laden interior.

Indeed, such was the scale of Kristof Dientzenhofer's design that it took over 60 years to build, with his son Kilían Ignaz (along with Anselmo Lurago) having to complete the work. Founded by the Jesuits at the behest of Ferdinand II, the building - which became the parish church for the area in 1814 - also features a slender bell-tower which, because of a financial crisis, was only added 40 years after St. Nicholas' nave had been finished.

The church's interior, justly regarded as the very pinnacle of Baroque flamboyancy in Prague, makes all but a few of the city's other fine 18th century buildings look dull by comparison. The structure, which boasts an extravagant trompe l'oeil ceiling fresco by Austrian Johann Lukas Kracker, is topped only by the main dome - a truly awesome spectacle that incorporates a painting by Franz Xavier Palka, the Celebration of the Holiest Trinity (1753).

Elsewhere, frescoes depict the life of St Nicholas (Nikulas) who, as the bearer of gifts to women and children is commemorated on 6th of December each year, with his gold statue also decorating the high altar.

Strahov Monastery (Strahovsky kláster)

Founded at the behest of Vladislav II by Premonastratensian monks in 1140, the Strahov Monastery - originally known as Mount Sion - quickly became Bohemia's most important centre for theological study and learning. Despite being attacked by Jan Zizka's Hussites in the 14th century and the rampaging Swedish in 1648, the monks amassed an ecclesiastical library of unparalleled size, whilst also educating leading nobles and political figures of the time.

Because of the monastery's popularity - and the wealth that accompanied it, the monks were able to construct two splendid libraries. The first was the Theological Hall, built between 1671 and 1679 by G.D Orsi. Adorned at its centre by 17th-century globes, the hall features an impressive stuccoed ceiling, with lavish frescoes by Siard Nosecký to represent the theme of human knowledge.

Just over a century later the larger - and even grander - Philosophical Hall was added (built from 1782 1784). Dominated by Maulbertsch's ceiling fresco 'Struggle of Mankind to Gain True Wisdom', the hall is enriched still further by its carved walnut (floor to ceiling) shelves holding over 40,000 books.

Elsewhere, the Church of Our Lady is a 17th-century Baroque remodelling of an original 12th century ground plan, while the Strahov Picture Gallery boasts a number of impressive works including Spranger's Resurrection of Christ and Dirck de Quade's van Ravesteyn's Allegory of the Reign of Rudolph II.

Vysehrad Castle

The Vysehrad Castle is regarded by Czechs as the mythical birthplace of Prague, the slavic tribes first established an outpost here under the leadership of local chieftain Krok who, as legend has it, fathered a daughter named Libuse with visionary powers. Libuse, who prophesized that she would marry a ploughman named Premysl (and indeed did) later said that on the seven hills - of what is now Prague - a majestic city would rise. Of course, on account of her being right, Libuse is considered to be the 'mother of Prague', while Premysl was the first in a long line of Czech rulers (the Pemyslid dynasty).

Many local historians agree that it was actually Boleslav II who first developed a sizeable settlement here (from 972-99), while the area gained further prominence under the reign of Vysehrad II. The first (written) mention of a castle on this rocky outcrop is in 1003, although the structure was almost totally destroyed during the Hussite wars - from 1421 onwards. Indeed, the heavily restored St Martin's Rotunda is the sole remaining feature of the original fortifications.

During the 17th century the site was rebuilt and turned into the powerful Baroque fortress that you see today. In addition to Corinthia Towers, the other major draw for visitors is the Church of SS Peter & Paul (Kostel sv. Petra a Pavla), a neo-Gothic style building - completed in 1903 - that features a splendid Art Nouveau interior.

Nearby, the Vysehrad cemetery is the resting place of famous Czech figures including Dvorak and Smetana, while the shady trees of Vysehrad Gardens offer tranquil respite on a hot summer's day