St Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle

I kept looking back to see the view while walking up the stairs that led me to the Prague Castle. Dec 17, 2011.

In order to reach the Prague castle fast, I took the metro to the station Malostanska. From there it was a short work to the castle area, before I faced with a looooong stairs which was decorated with iron lamps. It must be a romantic sight at night… The view on my way climbing up was lovely. Every step I made, I could see a little further out. By the time I reached the top, I was rewarded with a full panorama view of the Prague 1 area. It was fun to recognize some churches’s towers, glazing at the city while thinking of what’s happening in this piece of land. There were also lots of bridges, it wasn’t hard to understand why some would compare Prague to Paris. 

Most of the buildings at Mala Strana area directly below the castle have red roofs, which was an interesting contrast. Prague, Dec 17, 2011.

Then we walked through the gate with two uniformed guards on the side. There wasn’t much information around to tell me where to purchase tickets, and most of the doors were closed so I was a bit hesitated to walk into all those unknown buildings without a valid ticket. I walked passed buildings which I thought was part of the tour, but there were audio guide numbers on the outside, so I thought they must be the middle of the tour and I should get the ticket only at the starting point. At last, I found the ticket office with a small sign across the main entrance of the St Vitus Cathedral.

Love the golden details at the exterior of St. Vitus Cathedeal. Prague, Dec 17, 2011.

I bought the “Long Tour ticket”, with all the attractions I could entered listed on. Visitor can visit all the places according to their own schedule. Every point of interest would be marked off individually when you enter them. First, we walked into the gothic looking cathedral. Lots of pretty stained glasses, they were like a puzzles made up by millions of colourful pieces of glasses. The Czech style was a bit different that those I saw in other countries, these looked more like some moasic to me. For sure you cannot miss the stained glass window designed by Mucha! I do wish that it was in those fairytale looking illustration style, but this was still very pretty, and the colour distribution was very smart. The blue on the outer edge drew my attention inside to the center, it appears more unified as one single picture to me.

Stained glass window designer by Mucha on the north wall inside St Vitus Cathedral, Prague. Dec 17, 2011.

I just love this chapel with a different style.

The other stained glass window that caught my eyes were located inside a small chapel on the side, to which entrance was not permitted. This room had a very different decor, with golden elements on all sides. Some colourful stones made out interesting pattern as well. I could only snap a picture standing outside. The stained glasses in this chapel looked like some modern art without figures or bible stories. The colour was very muted and calming. I love this type of unusual stained glasses, and it reminded me of the ones at the Senanque Abbey in Provence, France.

It was refreshing to see a different kind of stained glass window. St Vitus Cathedral, Prague. Dec 17, 2011.

Around the corner behind the alter, I found lots of visitors taking pictures. It was the tomb monument of Saint John of Nepomuk in silver designed by Fishcher von Erlach. At first, I really thought it was the tomb of a Bohemian King, as the silver-gilts were so lavish and beautiful. It seems fit for a royalty.The drapes on the female figure looked like liquid silver, and there were lots of details on every objects there. I did a little research, Saint John Nepomuk was the confessor of the Queen of Bohemia and he refused to tell the secrets of the confessional. Therefore, he was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of the Romans. On the night he died, it was said that there were 5 stars in the sky. Here on top of the statue of the saint, I saw 5 golden stars.

This silver tomb of St. John of Nepomuk was just so grand to look at. St Vitus Cathedral, Prague. Dec 17, 2011.

Love the drape on these ladies. Almost look like a silk dress blowing in the wind. Dec 17, 2011.

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