Prague Castle

The first Prague Castle was built in the 9th century. In the 12th and 13th century the castle was fortified and expanded. Around the castle, a small community started to grow. That neighborhood, now called Lesser Town, obtained city rights in 1857. In the 14th century, under the reign of King Charles the whole Castle was renovated.

After the Castle was built into a fortress around 1100 the princes of Bohemia moved into the Royal Palace, also known as the Old Palace. Romanesque and Gothic stories were built on the remains of the first, ninth-century structure. The most remarkable room in the Royal Palace is the majestic Vladislav Hall. Built between 1493 and 1502 by Benedict Ried. It is with its great vaulting, which emanates from six pairs of buttresses into a curvilinear ribbing, one of the finest halls of the Middle Ages. The hall is more than 16 meters wide and more than 14 meters high.

In the center of the Royal Palace is the St. Vitus Cathedral, the most recognized landmark in Prague. When Charles IV acquired the bones of St. Vitus, a popular fourth-century martyr, and brought them to Prague, the city became a center of the St. Vitus cult.

In 1344, when Prague became an archbishopric, Charles IV started with the construction of the St. Vitus Cathedral. The first part was built by the Frenchman Mathieu d'Arras. After his death in 1352, Peter Parler took over for the next 47 years. In 1421, the Hussite wars stopped work on the cathedral, and it wasn't until 1872 that works resumed and finally in 1929 the cathedral was completed

The most interesting parts of the St. Vitus are the Golden Gate (Porta Aurea) and the chancel. The Golden Gate was until the 19th century the main gate and was used as the doorway by which kings entered on coronation day. Just above the entrance is a mosaic of the Last Judgment. The most remarkable part of the church is the tremendously high chancel with a beautiful net vaulting.

A popular sight at the Prague Castle is the Golden Lane, a small picturesque street with colorful wooden houses. Legend wants one to believe alchemists attempted to turn metal into gold here, but in fact the alchemists lived in another street at the castle. It was actually goldsmiths living here in the 17th century who gave the street its captivating name.