PRAGUE, OFF THE BEATEN PATH: VYSEHRAD

Vyšehrad fortress is in Prague 2, south of New Town and between 45 minutes to an hour's walk from the Old Town Square. Thus, it is considered a little out of the way and by and large, visitors who stay in Prague for only a few days likely give it a miss.

That is not to say it is almost bereft of visitors. Locals go there especially for walks in the park and to celebrate certain occasions and school children have excursions there as a history lesson. Horror of horrors, when I was there (second week of September), it was crowded with large tour groups present and often congregated all at once at the various attractions ... what luck!!

However, let me not put you off Vyšehrad, I may have been plain unlucky on the timing. Just be aware that it is probably more sought out by tourists now than before. I really should modify my post title to Somewhat Off the Beaten Path. 

To get there, the fit and able can easily walk taking either the scenic route along the Vltava or, by traversing the various streets in Old and New Town. There is also a tramline that stops nearby (you will need to walk uphill) or, take the Metro C (red line) from the station across the road from the new building of the National Museum nearby Wenceslas Square, to the Vyšehrad stop. 

As for me, I took the easy way out by hiring a guide who uses the Soviet-era car, a Trabant, as mode of transportation. The ride in the rust-proof (well almost) car made of recyclable materials may have been a little bumpy but fun ride.    

Meaning "castle on the heights", Vyšehrad is a historical fortress that was probably established in the 10th century, several decades after Prague Castle. In the second half of the 11th century (around 1085), Vratislav II, a prince from the first Bohemia royal dynasty, the Přemyslids, built up the area to include a palace and church and made this his royal residence and base of his kingdom. Vratislav II is considered the first Czech king. About 50 years after the death of Vratislav II, the main centre returned to Prague Castle and Vyšehrad languished. 

In the early 14th century, Holy Roman emperor Charles IV, repaired and upgraded Vyšehrad. However, the place was conquered and ransacked by the Hussites in 1420 and once more in the same century. When the Hapsburgs (Austrian empire) ruled Bohemia, they rebuilt, in the 17th century, Vyšehrad as a baroque fortress and turning it into a barracks for the Austrian army. The brick ramparts and Leopold's gate, among other sections of Vyšehrad, come from this period.  

Libuše and, husband Přemysl (a ploughman) 

- legendary founders of the first Bohemia 

royal family the Přemyslids

Vyšehrad is associated with a legend of the founding of Prague. The princess Libuše and her husband Přemysl (there is no documentary evidence they existed, so are probably also legends), are said to have once ruled from Vyšehrad in the 7th century. One day while looking across the Vltava river, she had a vision, pointing to a forested hill across the river, she declared that a glorious city would arise from that spot. She instructed her people to raise a castle (Prague Castle) where a man was building the threshold of his house. In Czech, threshold is "prah" and thus the name Praha (Prague). 

Vyšehrad has a special feel - there is some kind of energy or vibe there, the Basilica has a gorgeous interior, the cemetery is akin to an open air museum, stunning views of the Vltava can be had from the fortress ramparts, many interesting statuary are located here including originals from Charles Bridge and there are numerous legends linked to the place and to Prague. There is a fairly large park with extensive walkways and surrounded by fort ramparts with good lookout points. It's location can be discerned from afar by the high neo-Gothic towers of the Basilica.



There are various gates to enter Vyšehrad, the main one being the Tábor Gate (Táborská Brána) which leads to Leopold's Gate (Leopoldova Brána), the latter being a Baroque gate built in in the 17th century. If you arrive via the metro, the entry route should be via these gates. 

The other entrance is from the north via the Brick Gate (Cihelná Brána). Here on each side of the gate are casemates, underground passageways built beneath the fortress ramparts. They were built by French troops who occupied Prague for a time in the 1740s during the War of the Austrian Succession. One of these casemates leads to a large storage area, Gorlice, which was used to keep food supplies and ammunition and as a meeting venue for soldiers. In the Gorlice are 6 of the original groups of statues from Charles Bridge. A must visit for those fascinated with statuary.   

Not 50 metres from Leopold's Gate is the oldest surviving structure in Vyšehrad and one of the oldest in Prague - a little church in the form of a rotunda built during the time of Vratislav II, in the second half of the 11th century. It is the Rotunda of St. Martin (Rotunda sv. Martina), one of the triumvirate of surviving rotundas in Prague. It retains its original Romanesque architecture, of course with some additions to the original structure and more recent restorations. 

From the rotunda, take the straight road K Rotundě, on the left until you reach a crossroads of sorts where you can see the basilica. If you peek over the bushes to the park on your right (as you face the basilica), you will see three polished stone pillars embedded in the ground leaning against each other. These are dubbed Devil's Column and the name came about from a legend where a priest made a bet with the devil, and with help from St. Peter, won the bet. The Devil lost its temper and threw the column to this spot in Vyšehrad where it split into three.


In front of the Devils Column is the main entrance to the national cemetery (Vyšehradský hřbitov) established in 1869. Some of the most eminent Czechs, from many fields (yes, including politicians), who made significant contributions to their country have their resting ground here. Some of the names in the music, art and literary world buried here are: Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Alphonse Mucha, Mikoláš Aleš, Jan Neruda and Božena Němcová (whose portrait is on the 500 Czk note, at least as at end 2014). 

The cemetery is a virtual open-air museum of statuary, there are arcades with decorated vaulting and, it is very well maintained. A huge monument called Slavín is the "centrepiece" here - it has just under 60 burial tombs and urns, with the names of some of the deceased inscribed on one huge headstone that has an angel on top. There are numerous unattended to grave sites and one of these had a statue which invoked in me a myriad of emotions (and there must have been more of such but did not have the time to look at that many). If you have just that slight morbid fascination with gravestones, this place will interest you immensely (as will another main cemetery elsewhere in Prague) and could easily spend hours here. 

From the cemetery, you may want to venture north-northwest to one section of the ramparts where you will have a nice view of buildings in Vyšehrad outside the fortress. Well, in my case, I did have to sort of jostle with other tourists to take photos here - it was crowded!   

Nearby in one of the parks in this northern section is the first version of the equestrian statue of St. Wenceslas. Upon closer inspection, this statue is an obvious replica, but a superb one. A brief background of this statue is in the Wenceslas Square section of my 10 essential places in Prague post. 

Head back south, past the cemetery and onward to the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul (Bazilika sv. Petra a Pavla). The Basilica is the standout structure of the entire area and can be seen for miles around denoting the location of Vyšehrad. Vratislav II built a Romanesque church at the site of the Basilica in the 11th century. The church architecture was then changed to a Gothic one under Charles IV in the 14th century. In the following century, the Hussites severely damaged (razed?) the church and that was that until the Hapsburgs rebuilt it in Baroque style. At the end of the late 19th to early 20th century, the church was again remodeled and acquired its present Gothic look and the interiors were decorated in the then contemporary Art Nouveau style. Phew, what a storied history for a church and one hopes this is the end of all that reconstruction and we will see why in pictures.

Virtually every nook and cranny of the interior of the basilica is decorated in Art Nouveau designs and murals, the work of husband-wife team of František Urban and Marie Urbanová-Zahradnická. On a wall in one corner, likely a fresco from the Baroque era, is an attempt to depict the basilica in one of its previous incarnations (which one?), complete with the devil bearing a pillar. A truly unique church interior. 

There are other aspects of the basilica to admire - the neo-Gothic towers, the main entrance and portal and within, numerous religious art (including a 14th century Bohemian Gothic painting) and artifacts. 

 Maiden's War

From the basilica, we head south of the cemetery and basilica to the park. There are four groups of statues all created by Czech sculptor Josef Václav Myslbek who is best known for creating the St. Wenceslas equestrian statue presently on Wenceslas square. We had already met the legendary princess Libuše and her husband Přemysl earlier. Other legendary figures from Czech folklore and literature (one is of characters from Slavic manuscripts whose authenticity is disputed) are depicted in the other 3 groups. They were originally on Palacký Bridge (Palackého Most) but brought here after WWII. The one of Libuše and Přemysl is a 1970s replica.

From the statues, take a very scenic walk along the southern ramparts of the Vyšehrad fortress where you will have a great view of the Vltava to the south. Along the way (where there are rows of grapevines), do look out for a ruin of a watchtower located on the edge of a cliff which is the so-called Libuše's Bath. The story relates to Libuše and people being thrown out of windows in the tower.

We end the excursion of Vyšehrad with a view of the Vltava towards the south. 

The fortress merits easily half a day's tour and if you go on foot, a full day.