Vysehrad Castle
 The Vysehrad cemetery is the final resting place of many famous Czechs
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The first thing you’ll notice when visiting Vysehrad Castle is that there is no castle:
Charles IV converted Vyšehrad into a stone fortress [in the 14th century], joining it to the ramparts of the New Town of Prague, built a Gothic Royal Palace, the Capitular church, and the great new Špička (Peak) Gate. During the Hussite Wars, however, the whole royal precinct was destroyed… The present appearance of Vyšehrad was largely determined in the second half of the 19th century… its major landmark, the neo-Gothic Church of SS Peter & Paul was rebuilt in the Neo-Gothic style… the present Vyšehrad Cemetery is a unique artistic whole, harmoniously fitting its surroundings. At the same time it is also a unique gallery of funerary sculpture, and an expression of Czech artistic development from the second half of the 19th century to the present day. It is the final resting place of over 600 personalities from the fields of culture and intellectual endeavour.
Prague Castle, which I haven’t blogged about yet, is “the” castle to see in Prague. The Vysehrad Castle isn’t more than a few miles away, and before it was destroyed, “…the two castles maintained opposing spheres of influence for approximately two centuries.”
I visited Vysehrad one evening on another solo outing, and little did I know this was the perfect time to go. Vysehrad is on the highest ground in the southern part of town, and the sunset was spectacular. Apparently the sunsets are spectacular on a regular basis, as there were makeshift bars set up along the top of the northwestern wall, and a small, leisurely crowd was quietly chatting and enjoying the view.
I only had an hour or so to explore the sprawling grounds before it got dark, so I saw just a small part of what Vysehrad has to offer. See the “Plan of Vysehrad” section of the official site to get a sense of everything that’s there. It’s a quiet, green, and peaceful place, but with its huge walls on every side and its commanding view of the city, you can feel its history as a former center of power.
Maria and the boys visited Vysehrad before I joined them in Prague – the photos above include some shots of them enjoying its wonderful playground.
Another remarkable thing is that Vysehrad goes completely unmentioned in the popular Rick Steve’s Prague guidebook. It’s a couple miles from the center of town, but if you have more than a few days to spend in Prague, it’s worth a visit.
