St. Vitus Cathedral (III. courtyard) - Prague, Czech Republic
Posted by: 
ToRo61
N 50° 05.399 E 014° 23.999
33U E 457078 N 5548808
A view of St. Vitus Cathedral from III. courtyard of Prague Castle
Waymark Code: WMTWZ8
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 01/16/2017
Views: 43
Prague Castle complex have several courtyards and squares and it might be quite complicated to orientate there.
When you come to the III. courtyard you’ll walk through the New Royal Palace with the offices of the President of the Czech Republic. On the III courtyard you’ll definitely notice the most significant sacred monument in the Czech Republic, St Vitus Cathedral. To the right, next to the St Vitus Cathedral, is the small house of Old Provosty founded in the 11th century. There’s a tourist information centre situated just opposite the provosty. Close to the Old Provosty you’ll see slim granite monolith made from one piece of stone. It’s been there since 1928 in memory of victims of WWI and 10th anniversary of independent Czechoslovakia.
The dominating features of St. Vitus Cathedral are the cathedral towers. The main south tower was built in several building phases and amongst other towers and steeples in Prague the tower is recognized as the “Queen”. It also houses several bells, one of which is the biggest Czech bell called Zikmund.
The tower is square in its ground plan (about 14m x 14m) and it rises up to a height of 55m. The walls of the first belfry feature ruptured cuspidate windows. The large window situated in the south facia of the cathedral is covered with an iron grate that features the letter “R”, which dates back to Emperor Rudolf II. The gothic part of the tower merges into the upper renaissance part. The corners of the roof are adorned with four smaller octahedral prismatic spires, which are connected via open galleries. The main tower is crowned with a double lantern dome designed by Nicola Pacassi in 1770. The height of the steeple is 99.3m and its very top is crowned with a double-tailed lion (the coat-of-arms of the Bohemia Kingdom), which was made of a gilded cooper plate. The lion is 3m in height, 170cm in width, and holds a cross in its paws. The total weight of this emblem is 120kg. The clock-face situated higher on the tower is 425cm in diameter and shows the hours, the one positioned lower is 40cm smaller and shows the quarters. The mentioned gallery is open to the public and accessible via 287 steps.
Year photo was taken: 1930
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