Citytrip Prague,
Czech Republic
August 2013






Day 4
Friday, August 22th


Vyšehrad is a historical fort located in the city of Prague. It was probably built in the 10th century, on a hill over the Vltava River. Situated within the castle is the Basilica of St Peter and St Paul, as well as the Vyšehrad Cemetery, containing the remains of many famous people from Czech history, among them Antonín Dvorák and Bedrich Smetana. It also contains Prague′s oldest surviving building, the Rotunda of St Martin from the 11th century.

The Rotunda was built in the time of the King Vratislav II in the second half of XI century. In the time when Vyšhehrad was a castle, rotunda was used as the powder depot. When Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV began to build the Prague Castle in its current dimensions in the early 14th century, the deteriorating castle Vyšehrad was abandoned as a royal home. Later the whole complex was renewed by Charles IV and new fortifications, with two gates and a royal palace were built.

 


Highslide JS

The Vyšhehrad Fortres


The Vyšhehrad Fortres

 


In 1448 the castle was abandoned and became ruined. It underwent a renovation in the 17th century, when the Habsburg Monarchy took over the Czech lands after the Thirty Years War and remodelled it in 1654 as a Baroque fortress, turning it into a training centre for the Austrian Army, and later incorporated into the Baroque era city walls around Prague. Vyšehrad and the area around it became part of the capital city in 1883. The area is one of the cadastral districts of the city.

The so-called Devil′s column is located in the Karlahovs park on Vyšehrad. Individual pieces have a length of 160-240 cm. The origin of boulders known as Devil′s columns has not been precisely determined. Legend says that these columns were brought by the devil himself, when he had a dispute with a local priest. The devil should bring the column from the Temple of St Peter′s in Rome to Vyšehrad before the priest could finish his sermon. The priest won the dispute with help of Saint Peter and the angry devil dropped the column near the Vyšehrad temple.





Established in 1869 on the grounds of Vyšehrad Castle, the Vyšehrad cemetery (Czech: Vyšehradský hrbitov) is the final resting place of many composers, artists, sculptors, writers, and those from the world of science and politics. The centrepiece of the cemetery is the Slavín Monument designed by Antonín Wiehl and the cemetery is sometimes referred to as the Slavín cemetery, which refers to the Slavín tomb, a large and notable tomb located within Vyšehrad cemetery.

The National museum (Czech: Národní muzeum) located at the Wenceslas Square is a Czech museum institution intended to systematically establish, prepare and publicly exhibit natural scientific and historical collections. It was founded 1818 in Prague by Kašpar Maria Šternberg. At present the National Museum houses almost 14 million items from the area of natural history, history, arts, music and librarianship, located in tens of buildings.

Wenceslas Square (Czech: Václavské námestí is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town of Prague. The square is named after Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia. Less a square than a boulevard, Wenceslas Square has the shape of a very long (750 m, total area 45,000 m2) rectangle, in a northwest / southeast direction.

The street slopes upward to the southeast side. At that end, the street is dominated by the grand neoclassical Czech National Museum. Many historical events occurred there, and it is a traditional setting for demonstrations, celebrations, and other public gatherings.

The mounted saint was sculpted by Josef Václav Myslbek in 1887 - 1924, and the image of Wenceslas is accompanied by other Czech patron saints carved into the ornate statue base: Saint Ludmila, Saint Agnes of Bohemia, Saint Prokop, and Saint Adalbert of Prague. The statue base, designed by architect Alois Dryák, includes the inscription: ″Svatý Václave, vévodo ceské zeme, kníže náš, nedej zahynouti nám ni budoucím″ (″Saint Wenceslas, duke of the Czech land, prince of ours, do not let us perish nor our descendants″).











and welcome!




Highslide JS
Near Vyšehrad metro station

Near Vyšehrad metro station



Highslide JS
The National museum, located at the Wenceslas Square

The National museum, located
at the Wenceslas Square



Highslide JS
The statue of St. Wenceslas

The statue of St. Wenceslas


Highslide JS
A streetcar Coffee corner at the Wenceslas Square

A streetcar Coffee corner
at the Wenceslas Square


Highslide JS
The Wenceslas Square

The Wenceslas Square


Highslide JS
The Prague airport

The Prague airport