St Vitus’ Cathedral

Prague Castle

The Gothic St Vitus’ Cathedral was founded in November 1344, when the Prague bishopric was raised to an archbishopric. Its foundation stone was laid in the presence of Charles IV, the soon-to-be king of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor. The Cathedral was intended to be a coronation church, and also a crypt for the royal family. The first builder of the Cathedral was a French master Matthias of Arras, who was summoned by the Bohemian ruler from France. Matthias of Arras designed the general layout of the building, based on the layout of French Gothic cathedrals. However, he only lived to build the eastern part of the Cathedral. After his death in the mid-14th century, a new builder took over the construction of the Cathedral. His name was Peter Parler and he came from Gmünd. Though Parler was only 23-years old at that time, he continued the construction of the Cathedral according to his own project. Work on the Cathedral proceeded rather slowly, mainly due to the fact that in the meantime Parler was commissioned with many other projects, such as the construction of the new Charles Bridge in Prague and many churches in the Czech Lands. At the end of the 14th century, when Peter Parler died, only the choir and parts of the transept were finished. After Parler’s death, his sons continued the work; under them, the transept and half of the southern tower were finished. The entire building process was interrupted with the beginning of the Hussites wars in the first half of 15th century. All efforts to complete the Cathedral always came to nothing until the 19th century, mostly due to lack of money. In the middle of the 19th century, the Association for the Completion of the Cathedral was established. The completion itself was preceded by a renovation of the Cathedral’s choir. The construction of the western part of the Cathedral started in 1873 and it was finished in 1929.

Opening Times

• Mon – Sat 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. (no admission after 5:40)
• Sun 12 a.m. – 6 p.m. (no admission after 5:40)

Entrance Fee

St Vitus’ Cathedral is free to all visitors.