Prague Castle

www.hrad.cz

Prague castle and the Charles bridge A sightseeing tour for visitors to Prague Castle includes: Old Royal Palace, permanent exhibition The Story of Prague Castle, St. George's Basilica, Golden Lane with Daliborka tower, Prague Castle Picture Gallery, Powder Tower.

Admission to the Prague Castle Gardens is free.

When visiting the Castle, do not forget to pause at the Information Centre, which also provides guided tours to the Castle (including foreign language services).

Changing of the Guards ceremony by the Castle gates takes place every hour. At noon it also includes a fanfare and the flag ceremony in the First Courtyard.

Admission Fee to Historical Premises of Prague Castle Type of ticket Full admission Discount () Family admission ()

  • Prague Castle – long tour CZK 350 CZK 175 CZK 500
  • Prague Castle – short tour CZK 250 CZK 125 CZK 300
  • Prague Castle Picture Gallery CZK 150 CZK 80 CZK 200
  • Permanent exhibition „The Story of Prague Castle“ CZK 140 CZK 70 CZK 200

Admission Fee Reductions

  • youth at the age of 6–16
  • secondary school and university students of the full-time study until 26
  • family (at least one child at the age of under 16 with max. 2 adults)
  • seniors past 65

The Palace

The Prague Palace grew and gradually gained its present appearance from the time of its founding in the late 9th century. The original wooden building with a stone foundation wall was converted into a stone Romanesque palace by Prince Sobeslav in the early 12th century. Remainders of it have been preserved in the underground to the present. The palace was adjoined on its eastern side by All Saints' Chapel, which was consecrated in 1185. In the first half of the 14th century the king and emperor Charles IV had a Gothic palace with a vaulted interior for state purposes and a band of arcades on its northern side built on the site of the Romanesque building. During the reign of his son Wenceslas IV two perpendicular wings were added and All Saints' Chapel was reconstructed. The palace was deserted for entire eighty years of the stormy 15th century. After 1483 the king Vladislav Jagiello returned to Prague Castle and commenced the last large-scale reconstruction of the palace. The magnificent solemn Vladislav Hall was added to it and when designing it the architect Benedikt Ried combined the art of the Late Gothic with elements of the newly arriving Renaissance style. The perpendicular palace wing named after Vladislav's son Ludvik is also the work of B. Ried. After the succession of the Habsburgs to the Bohemian throne the interiors of the Old Royal Palace were used for coronation festivities and diets and as conference rooms, offices and depositories. New dwelling quarters were built to the west of the palace, in the southern part of the Castle complex. After the catastrophic fire which occurred in 1541 the Diet and All Saints' Church were rebuilt. The Theresian Wing originated in the course of the reconstruction of the Castle in the 18th century. During the 20th century it has been subjected to several reconstructions. In 1993 it was adapted for an exhibition of creative art.

St. Vitus Cathedral

The largest and the most important temple in Prague. Apart from religious services the coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place in here. The cathedral is a place of interment of remains of provincial patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen and archbishops.

St Vitus cathedral 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 basilica with three naves and 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 chancel with a ring of chapels, St. Wenceslas 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 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 chancel of the cathedral, in front of the high alter, is the royal mausoleum below which, in the crypt, there is the royal tomb. The chancel is surrounded by a ring of Gothic chapels. Czech sovereigns and patron saints are interred in some of them.

The Vladislav Hall

Old Diet From the 16th century the Vladislav Hall served particularly royal state purposes. It was the scene of coronation festivities and banquets, knights' tournaments and markets with artistic and luxurious goods. The Vladislav Hall still partly fulfils the state function: the elections of the president of the Czech Republic and ceremonial gatherings connected with important days in the life of this country take place in it. Neighbouring on the Vladislav Hall is the Diet, which through the furnishings of its interior affords an idea of the way in which the proceedings of the Diet took place after 1627, and also All Saints' Church.From the south-western corner of the Vladislav Hall a portal leads to the Ludwig Wing with the offices of the Czech Chancellery. In 1618 its second room witnessed the beginning of the uprising to the Czech Estates when two governors and a scribe were thrown into the castle ditch from its window. The uprising of the Czech Estates was the first conflict of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). The observation gallery on the southern wall of the Vladislav Hall affords a beautiful view of the Garden on the Ramparts and of Prague. Nowadays the exit from the Vladislav Hall is formed by the Riders' Staircase, built originally to enable knights to enter the hall on horseback in order to take part in the jousting competitions held in it. The staircase is vaulted with a complicated Late Gothic rib vault.

All Saints' Church

The All Saints' Church was built by Petr Parler on the site of the Romanesque palace chapel, also consecrated to All Saints. According to old sources the church was magnificently decorated in the manner of La Chapelle in Paris. However, after the great fire of 1541 only its peripheral walls remained. In the course of its renewal the church was extended as far as the facade of the Vladislav Hall and during later modifications it was connected with it by means of a portal. Situated in a recess on the northern side of All Saints' Church is the tomb of St. Procopius, whose life is portrayed in the cycle of paintings on the walls. Old Royal Palace is part of sightseeing tour of the Prague Castle. The Theresian Wing is adapted for an exhibition of creative art. A view of the interior of All Saints's Church can be gained from the Vladislav Hall. The church is open to the public only when religious services (Saturday at 4 p.m.) and concerts take place in it.

St. Wenceslas Chapel

St. Wenceslas Chapel is a cult centre of St. Vitus Cathedral. Its magnificent decoration and the different conception of its architecture emphasize its singularity as the central point of the cathedral with the tomb of the most important provincial patron saint. The facing of the walls, consisting of precious stones, and the wall paintings of the Passion cycle are parts of the original 14th-century decoration of the chapel. The scenes from the life of St. Wenceslas forming another decorative band are attributed to the workshop of the Master of the Litomerice Altar (the cycle is dated in 1509). The door in the south-western corner of the chapel leads to the Crown Chamber in which the Bohemian Coronation Jewels are kept.

Royal Garden

Royal Garden Royal Garden was laid out in 1534 on the orders of the Habsburg Ferdinand I. From the owners he gradually bought old vineyards beyond the valley of the Brusnice stream and had a Renaissance garden laid out here, which later became famous for its rare botanical specimens and the exotic plants gained from distant countries. From the very beginning there were situated a number of buildings serving the entertainment of the nobility: the Ball Game Pavilion, the Royal Summer House, the Lion Court. Currently the garden follows the tradition of an „English-style“ park created in the mid 19th century, but it also contains elements of Renaissance character (giardinetto near the Royal Summer House) as well as Baroque elements (ornamental flower beds). It can be approached via two entrances, the main (western) gate from the street U Prasneho mostu (By the Powder Bridge) and the east gate near the Royal Summer House. The northern gate from the street Marianske hradby (Marian Ramparts) is only open occasionally.

Garden on the Terrace of the Riding School

This garden was built from 1950–1956 on the roof garages and car workshops of the President's Office. Architect Pavel Janak designed its Baroque character. The terrace can be approached via a small passage way leading through the building of the Riding School, or by passing round the Riding School and crossing the Riding School courtyard.

Garden on the Bastion

This garden covers the area at the entrance to the Spanish Hall. Currently the garden is laid out according to the design by architect Josip Plecnik in the style of Italian and Japanese gardens. The name of the garden recalls the older mediaeval bulwarks on the north-western side of Prague Castle. The garden can be approached from the Powder Bridge past the northern wing of Prague Castle above the Upper Stag Mote, or from the opposite direction from Hradcany square (Hradcanske namesti).