Saint Vitus Cathedral

You step out of a courtyard, and suddenly it towers over you. Your eyes follow the stone upward. Pointed arches climb toward the sky. Sharp spires seem to pierce the clouds. Carved figures crowd the heights. This is Saint Vitus Cathedral. It is the largest church in the country, and it stands at the very center of Prague Castle.

The cathedral fills the third courtyard of the castle. It is hard to see all of it at once. The walls rise so high that you must lean back to find the top. Stone figures look down at you from above. Thin stone supports curve out from the sides. They spread like the legs of some great creature at rest. Carved spouts jut out to throw rainwater clear of the walls.

The story begins on a November day in 1344. The church of Prague had just been raised to an archbishopric. Emperor Charles IV wanted a cathedral to match its new rank. He called for a builder from France. His name was Matthias of Arras. Matthias had worked at the papal palace in the city of Avignon.

Matthias laid out the plan in the French Gothic style. He designed tall central naves and outer supports. But he died before the work had gone very far. A young man then took over the project. His name was Peter Parler. He came from Swabia, in the south of Germany. He was only in his early twenties.

Parler was a sculptor as well as a builder. He brought fresh ideas to the design. He shaped the choir and the high vaults with great skill. Much of what you see near the eastern end is his work. The same gifted hand later shaped the famous bridge across the river. His family carried on building for years after him.

The cathedral was not finished for a very long time. Wars, fires, and shortages of money slowed the work. For centuries the church stood only half built. A temporary wall closed off the unfinished end. The full building was completed only in 1929. That was nearly six hundred years after the first stone was laid.

Because of this long pause, the cathedral has two clear ages. The eastern half is truly old. The western half, with its tall front towers, was built in modern times. The later builders followed the old plans with great care. Stand inside, and you can barely tell where one age ends and the next one begins.

Step through the doors. The space opens upward in a rush. Slim columns rise and branch into the ceiling far above. Light pours through tall windows of colored glass. On a bright day, the floor glows with pools of red, blue, and gold. Stand still for a moment. Let your eyes adjust to the soft, shifting light. Each tall window tells its own story in glass.

Walk toward the side and find the chapel of Saint Wenceslas. Its walls are set with thousands of polished stones. Gold covers the upper parts of the walls. This chapel holds the tomb of the country's patron saint. A small locked door in here leads to a hidden room. The crown jewels are kept inside, behind many separate locks.

Now look for the tomb of Saint John of Nepomuk. It is made of solid silver and shines even in dim light. A great weight of the metal was used to shape it. Silver angels seem to hold the whole thing up. Nearby lie the tombs of kings and emperors. Many of them rest beneath the worn stone floor.

Find a window made by a famous painter of the early twentieth century. Its colors are softer and more flowing than the older glass. The scene tells the story of two saints from the region. Many visitors walk straight past it without noticing. Stand close for a while. Let the small details slowly come into view. Stand back, then move closer, and the colors shift.

Before you leave, walk a slow circle around the inside. Notice the carved faces along the upper walls. Some are kings and bishops. Some are the very builders who raised this place. They look down on every visitor who passes. They have done so for hundreds of years. Their quiet faces have watched the work for ages.

Saint Vitus took almost six hundred years to complete. Hands from many ages shaped it. Some of the builders never saw the towers finished. Yet they kept laying stone, trusting others to carry on. As you step outside, look up one last time. You are part of the long line of people this cathedral was built to welcome.