Page 677 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

PR A GUE  675

Dalibor Tower 1 St. Vitus’s
This grim 15th-century tower Cathedral
takes its name from the first
man imprisoned in it, a young Prague Castle, third courtyard. q
knight sentenced to death for Malostranská. v 22 to Prague Castle
harboring outlawed serfs. (Pražský hrad). Open daily (except
during services). 7 Steeple: Open
daily. Closed in bad weather. &
Golden Lane (see p676)
is lined with picturesque
artisans’ cottages, built in Work began on the city’s
the late 16th century for the most distinctive landmark in
Castle’s guards and gunners. 1344 on the orders of John
of Luxemburg. The Gothic
cathedral replaced an earlier
White Tower Romanesque basilica that stood
on the site of a small rotunda
dating back to the time of
St. Wenceslas (c.925). The
first architect of the new
Gothic structure was the
Frenchman Matthew of
Arras. After his death, the
Swabian Peter Parler took
over. The eastern end of
the cathedral dates from this
Á
K period. The original entrance
J I Ř S was the Golden Portal on the
south side of the building. The
present entrance, the western
Steps down to
Malostranská metro end of the nave, and the façade
with its twin spires were added
in 1873–1929.
The chapels house many
The Lobkowicz Palace saintly relics, the Bohemian
dates from 1570. Some crown jewels, and a number of
original sgraffito has been
preserved on the façade. royal tombs. The tomb of “Good
King” Wenceslas stands in the
St. Wenceslas Chapel, which is
Rosenberg Palace decorated with Gothic frescoes.
Another spectacular memorial
is the huge silver tomb (1736)
St. George’s Convent of St. John Nepomuk, whose
cult was encouraged during
the Counter-Reformation.
. St. George’s Basilica
The vaulted chapel of the
royal Bohemian martyr
St. Ludmilla is decorated
with 16th-century paintings.

The Defenestration of 1618
On May 23, 1618, more than 100 Protestant nobles stormed the
Royal Palace to protest against the succession of the Habsburg
Archduke Ferdinand. The two Catholic Governors, Jaroslav Martinic
and Vilém Slavata, were confronted and thrown out of the eastern
window along with their secretary, Philipp Fabricius. Falling some
15 m (50 ft), they landed in a dung heap. This event signaled the
beginning of the Thirty Years’ War. The Catholics attributed the
survival of the Governors to the intervention of angels.
The spectacularly vaulted chancel of
St. Vitus’s Cathedral

674-675_EW_Europe.indd 675 14/07/16 10:20 am