Storming the Gates of the Castle, or well, just walking in - Czech Blog post #9

After we got back to the hotel from our trip to Terezin on Saturday, we took a bathroom break, and I laid down for about five minutes, before we took off for our next adventure. 

We had been close to the base of Prague Castle on our other walks, so we figured we could make the walk there and back and still have time to wander around the grounds. The two-mile trek there wasn’t bad, but that hike up to the summit of the hill got our hearts pumping. 

But the views! Totally worth breaking a sweat. 

We wandered around for a bit, then plunged through the gate (which really didn’t seem like a gate at the time) and started exploring.   

Unfortunately, you needed a ticket to get inside any of the buildings, but we figured we had enough to see outside. 

How much have I told you about Prague Castle? 

It is actually an extensive castle complex and the official residence and workplace of the president of the Czech Republic. During its existence, the complex served as the seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, and presidents of Czechoslovakia. Building began in the 9th century, but as each new king came to power, he added on a new building, until the entire compound reached 1,870 feet in length and 430 feet in width. 

According to the Guinness Book of Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world, occupying an area of almost 750,000 square feet. I know I mentioned that before, but I finally looked up what makes it an ancient castle as opposed to any other castle.  

It has to have been built during the Middle Ages, has to have served as both a fortified military stronghold and a residence for a lord or ruler, and has features from that time period, such as thick stone walls, towers, arrow slits, and gatehouses. 

After a quick lunch at a café within the walls, we started wandering around in earnest. Until we walked out from an alley way to this: 

St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest and most important religious building in Prague. Apart from religious services, coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place here. Several patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen, and archbishops are buried there. 

The current cathedral is the third religious building to be on this site, all dedicated to St. Vitus.

Construction of this one began on November 21, 1344. Due to wars, changing of architects, and lots of other drama, the cathedral wasn’t declared to be finished until 1929! (Keep that in mind if you are personally in the midst of a construction nightmare.)

I’m not sure what else we saw as we walked along, but it was all breathtaking. Including the views from the top.