Vysehrad

Vysehrad is the other castle rock in Prague, and the one most visitors skip. It sits above a bend of the Vltava at the south end of the centre, ringed by baroque brick fortifications with grassy tops that you can walk almost the whole way round. Inside the walls the ground is open parkland rather than a dense complex: the neo-Gothic basilica of Saints Peter and Paul with its black twin spires, a small Romanesque rotunda among the oldest buildings in the city, and the Slavin cemetery where Czech composers, writers and painters are buried under elaborate stones. Tunnels cut inside the ramparts hold several original statues taken off Charles Bridge.

History

Legend makes Vyšehrad the first settlement of what became Prague, founded by Duke Krok on a steep rock above the Vltava, and tells of the knight Horymír leaping from its walls into the river on his horse Šemík. When the Přemyslids settled at the site of Prague Castle, the two castles kept rival spheres of influence for some two centuries. Vyšehrad's zenith came in the second half of the 11th century, when Vratislav II moved his seat here and the fort became a complex of palace, church and chapter, until Prince Soběslav moved back to Prague Castle around 1140. Charles IV later renewed it with new fortifications, two gates and a royal palace; the Hussites ransacked it in 1420, the troops of George of Poděbrady did the same in 1448, and it fell into ruin until it was remodelled in 1654 as a Baroque fortress and training centre for the imperial army, later joined to the city walls. The brick ramparts, bastions and the Tábor and Leopold gates are Baroque, the Brick Gate is an Empire design of 1841, and from the Middle Ages survive only the Špička Gate, parts of the Romanesque bridge and the ruined lookout called Libuše's Bath; the Rotunda of St Martin dates from the second half of the 11th century, and the basilica of Saints Peter and Paul was remodelled in the 14th century and again in 1885 and 1887 in neo-Gothic style. Vyšehrad became part of the city in 1883, and its cemetery holds Dvořák, Smetana, Karel Čapek and Alphonse Mucha (Wikipedia, Vyšehrad).

What you'll find

• The ramparts walk - baroque brick fortifications with long views over the river and the city.
• Saints Peter and Paul - the neo-Gothic basilica with a painted interior and black twin spires.
• Slavin cemetery - graves of composers, writers and painters under sculpted monuments.
• The casemates - tunnels inside the walls holding original statues from Charles Bridge.

When to go

April to October for the parkland and the rampart walk, though the grounds are open and free year round and work well on a bright winter afternoon. Sunset from the western wall over the river is what brings most locals up. The casemates run guided entries at set times and close earlier than the grounds.

Practical notes

There is no single dramatic building here, and visitors expecting a second Prague Castle leave disappointed. The basilica charges separately and its neo-Gothic interior divides opinion. The hill is a genuine climb from the riverside, and on summer weekends the lawns fill with picnicking locals rather than offering quiet.

Nearby

The river embankment below the rock holds a Saturday farmers market, and the centre is two metro stops north.

Key facts