2 . S T . V I T U S
C A T H E D R A L
III. NÁDVO Ř Í 48/2
St . Vitus Cathedral is the largest and the most important
temple in Prague . Apart from religious services , coronations of
Czech kings and queens also took place here . The cathedral is
a place of burial of several patron saints , sovereigns , noblemen
and archbishops .
The cathedral is the third church consecrated to the same
saint on the same site . Around the year 925 , Prince Wenceslas
( Václav ) founded a Romanesque rotunda here , which after 1060
was converted into a basilica with three naves and two
steeples . The importance of the church 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 chancel with a ring of chapels , St . Wenceslas
Chapel , the Golden Gate and the lower part of the Great South
Tower . It was already Peter Parler who started the construction
of the South Tower , however he did not complete it . In the
16th century , is was finished with a Renaissance view gallery
and a helmet . Later in the 18th century , the older helmet was
replaced by a new dome .
Unfortunately , in 1419 the construction of the Cathedral
stopped because of the Hussite Wars . In spite of the
endeavours of some sovereigns to secure the continuation of
the construction work , the Cathedral remained uncompleted
for whole centuries . The facade of the Cathedral was
provisionally closed and for example the music choir was bulit .
It was not until the latter half of the 19th century that the
Union for the Completion of the Cathedral began the repair of
the original part and the completion of the Cathedral in Neo -
Gothic style . The church 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 Courtyard of Prague Castle .