Petrov Cathedral, Brno

The cathedral of St Peter and Paul stands on Petrov, the rock above the old town of Brno, on a site fortified since the eleventh century. The building is Gothic in origin, baroqued in the eighteenth century, and given its two eighty-four-metre neo-Gothic spires only in 1904-1905 by August Kirstein - which is to say the silhouette everyone photographs is barely more than a century old. The cathedral bells ring noon at eleven o'clock every day, and have done since 1645: the story is that during the Swedish siege the commander Torstenson swore he would abandon the assault if the town held past midday, and the defenders rang the noon bell an hour early. Whether that is what happened is doubted by historians; the custom is real and unbroken. There is a crypt with excavated foundations and a treasury, and the tower is climbable for a view over the city.

What you actually see

• Noon rung at eleven - the daily custom kept unbroken since 1645.
• Two eighty-four-metre spires - neo-Gothic, added only in 1904-1905.
• A crypt with excavations - earlier foundations beneath the church.
• A climbable tower - over Brno's old town and the Spilberk hill.

When to go

All year. Two hours.

Honest expectations

The church closes to sightseeing during services. Tower and crypt are separate tickets with limited hours. The siege story is traditional and disputed - the bell custom is the fact.

Nearby

Zelny trh market is below; Spilberk is across the old town.