The very first church that ever stood on the site of today’s St. Vitus Cathedral was founded by Prince Wenceslas around 929. The pre-Romanesque rotunda built on the Prague fortress became the third church of the capital city.
The importance of the rotunda increased significantly after the establishment of the canonry of the St. Vitus Chapter and the establishment of the Prague bishopric. It was not surprising that the choice fell on a small church in such close proximity to Prague Castle and the centre of the metropolis.
The replacement of the original church with a three-aisled basilica in 1060 was the work of Prince Spytihnev, who died just a year after the work began. The basilica was five times larger than the rotunda and its importance continued to grow – it became a place of coronation and the last resting place of Czech kings.
The establishment of the archbishopric was approved by Pope Clement VI. bull from the 5th. May 1344 and the basilica became a metropolitan church. But once again it had to adapt to its importance and 21. In November of the same year, King John of Luxembourg laid the foundation stone of the new church – the third one on the same site – in the presence of King Charles.
The tomb in St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest burial place of Czech rulers. The sarcophagi of Charles IV, Wenceslas IV, Ladislaus the Terrible, George of Poděbrady and Rudolf II are located here. St. Wenceslas is buried in the underground chapel of St. Wenceslas.
It took 585 long years before St. Vitus Cathedral was actually completed. The temple, whose construction involved more than a dozen of the greatest architects of the time, was consecrated and officially opened on 28. September 1929 in the presence of President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Archbishop František Kordač.
St. Vitus Cathedral remains an important symbol of the Czech nation and a major tourist attraction, drawing visitors from all over the world. It is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Czech Republic and its interior is visited by about 1.5 million visitors every year.
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