St. Vitus Cathedral
* * *Metropolitan cathedral
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The most magnificent church in Prague, the Cathedral rightly stands as symbol of the entire Czech Republic. This eye-catching, mostly gothic cathedral has its beginnings in 925, when prince Wenceslas had the Rotund of St. Vitus built. This famed Bohemian Saint was buried here. The foundations of the cathedral were completed in 1344 and Matyáš of Arras great design was started according to Jan Lucemburský´s wishes and later those of king and Roman Emperor Charles the Fourth. After the death of Matyáš of Arras, the work continued led by the famous architect Petr Parléř. The cathedral was only completed at the turn of the 19th and the 20th century and then ceremonially consecrated in the year of 1929.
During that period, a number of renowned Czech architects and artists participated in building and decorating the cathedral. Among those were for instance Benedikt Ried, Bonifác Wohlmut, František Kysela, Alfons Mucha, Josef Mocker and
many others. The most important Czech Emperors such as Charles the Fourth were buried here in the cathedral.
The Cathedral was built over 600 years and thus, it has become a unique showcase and a gallery of artistic and architectonic styles, which have no equivalent in Bohemia.
Among the most important parts of the cathedral there is, for instance, the chapel of St. Wenceslas whose walls are covered with precious stones, the Bohemian crown jewels, the bell tower with the co-called Golden Gate, a Renaissance walkway, and the Baroque dome with a 3.5 meter tall golden-plated lion and a huge bell called Sigismund weighing 18 tons and made in 1549. There are other architectural treasures such as the Gothic arch of Peter Parléř, his triforium with busts around the ship of the cathedral, a Renaissance choir loft – the chorus of Bonifác Wohlmut, stained-glass windows by Alfons Mucha, František Kysela and works by many other artists.
