Praha Castle

If you are a regular reader, you know that we love castles. Well, I love castles and I think John really likes them, too. :) And Prague has a castle. A giant castle, one of the biggest in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records, in fact. It measures 70 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide!

The history of the castle dates back to 870 AD! The Basilicas of St George and St. Vitus were founded in the first half of the 10th century. The first convent in Bohemia was founded in the castle, next to the church of St. George. A Romanesque palace was built there during the 12th century. In the 14th century, the royal palace was rebuilt in Gothic style. In the 1600s, the castle was abandoned and run down due to wars. In 1918, the castle became the seat of government and was renovated up to 1936.

Since we only had about 4 hours to spend at the castle before things closed, we opted for the shortened tour (supposed to take about 2 hours). I am glad that we chose the short tour because we barely had enough time to explore everything that we had access to! I guess I just take too many pictures and go at a slower pace than the average tourist. After returning home, I met a woman who had been to Prague the previous week as well. She saw the castle in an hour! I don't know how she did that.

Anyway, the cathedral was definitely the high point of the grounds (it will get its own post). We probably spent at least an hour and a half in it just reading about the history (which I promptly forget) and looking at all the different chapels. I also enjoyed St. George's Basilica. As with other older churches, important people are buried there, including Prince Vratislav and Boleslav II. A wooden tomb was also on display. The palace itself wasn't that impressive. But then, we didn't get to see much of it.