Travel Galleries

Prague :

Prague

Updated: Apr 02, 2007 12:56pm PST

trips to Prague and surroundings :

trips to Prague and surroundings

Updated: Sep 13, 2007 6:04am PST

St. Vitus's Cathedral : St. Vitus's Cathedral is the largest and the most important church in Prague. Apart from divine services the coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place in it. The remains of provincial patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen and archbishops are interred here. 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 triple-naved basilica with 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 choir with a ring of chapels, St. Wenceslas's 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's 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 choir of the cathedral, in front of the high alter, is the royal mausoleum below which, in the crypt, there is the royal tomb. The choir is surrounded by a ring of Gothic chapels. Czech sovereigns and patron saints are interred in some of them.

St. Vitus's Cathedral

St. Vitus's Cathedral is the largest and the most important church in ...

Updated: Feb 19, 2007 4:20pm PST

St. Nicholas Church : The stunning St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town Square was designed by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer and completed in 1735, replacing an earlier parish church, mentioned in records dating back as early as 1273. But, it wasn't until 1901, when the Krenn House was demolished, that its beautiful white façade became visible from the rest of the square. This famous Baroque church, decorated with sculptures by Antonín Braun, simply gleams in its corner of the Old Town Square, hit by the sun during the day and lit by strong white lights at night. The interior design of St. Nicholas was inspired by the chapel of St. Louis-des-invalides in Paris. The delicate stucco decoration was executed by Bernardo Spinetti, and the frescos are by Peter Adam the Elder. In 1781, decoration inside the church was removed after emperor Josef II ordered the closure of all monasteries without a social function. From 1870 to 1914, St. Nicholas became Russian Orthodox. And, during the second World War, Czech army units were stationed here - artists who otherwise would have had to go to the front, were set to work by a colonel to restore the church. After the war, the church was handed over to the Czech Hussite movement. Classical concerts are held at St. Nicholas at the Old Town Square throughout the year.

St. Nicholas Church

The stunning St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town Square was designed b ...

Updated: Feb 19, 2007 4:45pm PST

Karlstein castle :

Karlstein castle

Updated: Sep 11, 2007 9:40am PST

Pruhonice Park :

Pruhonice Park

Updated: Sep 11, 2007 9:54am PST