St Vitus Cathedral - Prague - Hradcany Hill<< >>
St Vitus Cathedral Prague Hradcany Hill watches over the city from its prime positions within the castle grounds.
The magnificent Gothic building although began in thirteen forty-four with a commission from Charles the fourth it wasn’t finally finished until nineteen twenty-nine.
This great Prague cathedral should really be called bt its full name, which is St Vitus, St Wenceslas and St Adalbert Cathedral. It is the biggest and the most important church in the Czech Republic. It is the official seat of the Archbishop of Prague.
St Vitus Cathedral is where saints, kings, princes and emperors of Bohemia are buried. In the chancel of the cathedral, in front of the high altar, is the marble royal mausoleum. Below this, is the crypt that houses the royal tombs. The mauzoleum displays the tombstones of Ferdinand I of Austria, his wife Anna of Bohemia and Hungary and the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. In the royal crypt are the graves of Charles IV, his four wives, Wenceslas IV, Ladislas the Posthumous, George of Podebrady, Rudolf II and the daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria Marie Amalie of Austria. Until eighteen thirty-six the coronations of the kings of Bohemia were held in the building.
It is popularly named for Saint Vitus who is the patron saint of Bohemia as well as of Prague, dogs, domestic animals, young people, dancers, coppersmiths, actors, comedians, and mummers. He is invoked as a cure for epilepsy, lightning, dog and snakebites, sleeplessness, storm, and Saint Vitus Dance, which is Sydenham's chorea, a nervous disorder. In the sixteenth century some German devotees believed they could obtain a year's good health by dancing before the statue of Saint Vitus on his June 15th feast day. The dancing became manic, and was confused with the nervous condition chorea. Which then became known as Saint Vitus' dance.
Prince Wenceslas built a rotunda church here over a pagan site in the tenth century and dedicated it to the Roman Saint Vitus.
Inside St Vitus Cathedral you will find a central nave with narrow aisles bordered with small chapels and the impressive northern transept. The chapels are illuminated by light passing through various coloured windows depicting different sacred scenes. Of particular note is the famous St. Wenceslas Chapel that is decorated with highly decorative frescoes and semi-precious stones. Charles IV created the chapel in the fourteenth century in honour of the patron of Czech lands St Wenceslas. A door in the corner of the chapel leads to the Crown Chamber in which the Bohemian Coronation Jewels are stored they are said to be protected by the spirit of St. Wenceslas. Another item of importance is the silver tomb of St John of Nepomuk that was made in the mining town of Kutna Hora it is three thousand and seven hundred pound of solid silver and if you look carefully you will see miners depicted on the piece. Two tall towers and the Rose Window characterize the western part of the cathedral. And the bell tower houses a sixteen ton bell known as Sigismund, which is the Czech Republic’s largest bell and dates from fifteen forty nine. When it is rung on special occasions it takes four people to get it ringing. Although there is an official main entrance to the cathedral it is the former main entrance to the cathedral, called the Golden Portal, which catches the attention. The large mosaic above the entrance depicts the last judgement and was made in a Bohemian glass factory with the assistance of experienced Italian artists. The scene shows Jesus surrounded by angels and the kneeling Czech patrons of St Prokop, St Zikmund and St Vitus on the left and St Wenceslas, St Ludmila and St Vojtech on the right. This stunning mosaic covers an area of eighty-two square meters. After your visit to St Vitus Cathedral you will be able to saunter back down Hradcany Hill across the Charles Bridge and back into the center of Prague. << >>
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