Prague - St Vitus Cathedral

(Local Name: Katedrala St Vita) Located in the Castle of Prague, St Vitus Cathedral (Katedrala St Vita) is considered to be the Czech Republic's largest and most important Christian building. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Prague and contains the tombs of saints and three Bohemian kings.

Founded on the site of a Romanesque rotunda built in 925, St Vitus Cathedral took over 525 years to complete. It was started on November 21st, 1344 but building was halted time and again for wars and even the plague.

The architechture of the Cathedral is a mixture of two styles, modern neo Gothic and 14th Century Gothic but has over its lifetime also included Baroque and Renaissance. The master builder who started the project was Matthais of Arras but over the course of construction there were six other master builders or architects that played a part. There are several interesting things to see contained within the Catherdral of St Vitus. First of these is the stunning stained glass windows that depict the Holy Trinty. Above the Golden Portal entrance arch is a mosaic from 1370 that depicts The Last Judgement. St Wenceslas Chapel (Svatovaclavska kaple) is a jewel encrusted site to see. Ametheyst and jasper decorate the altar. Also of note are the paintings dating from the 14th to 16th Centuries.

The spire can be climbed and from here the views over Prague are spectacular.