St. Vithus at Prague castle

Facts:

• wedding ceremonies lasts around 30 min without holy mass or around 60 min with holy mass

• ceremonies are in English

• at least one of you must be baptised Roman-catholic

• available dates – any day, ceremony can only start at 5.00 p.m.

• capacity of approx. 200 people

About:

St. Vitus’s Cathedral is the largest and the most important church in Prague. Apart from divine services the coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place in it. The remains of provincial patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen and archbishops are interred here.

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 triple-naved basilica with 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 choir with a ring of chapels, St. Wenceslas’s 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.

It was not until the latter half of the 19th century that the Union for the Completion of the Building of St. Vitus’s 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.

Situated in the choir of the cathedral, in front of the high alter, is the royal mausoleum below which, in the crypt, there is the royal tomb. The choir is surrounded by a ring of Gothic chapels. Czech sovereigns and patron saints are interred in some of them.

Virtual tour of St. Vithus church