While we were in Prague, we visited St. Vitus, a church founded by Duke Wenceslaus, later St. Wencelaus, in the 10th century. Wencelaus was the grandson of the Bohemian saint and martyr Ludmila and continued his grandmother's work in converting the Slavic tribes within Bohemia. Although he was murdered in 935 by his brother and successor, the conversion of the Slavs did not stop. Once Bohemia was converted, later generations of Bohemian dukes and kings built larger churches on the site to accommodate larger congregations. 

In the 14th century, St. Vitus became the seat of the archbishop of Prague which prompted Charles IV of Bohemia to rebuild the church as a Gothic cathedral. The new cathedral was expected to be a coronation church, a royal crypt, a treasury building, and the resting place of St. Wencelaus; however, the cathedral was not completed until the 20th century. Over its history, it has fulfilled its expectations, but not quite as Charles IV envisioned.  

The chapel where the relics of St. Wencelaus rest.

The interior of the cathedral is not unlike other cathedrals; however, I felt as if though this cathedral is larger than other cathedrals I have visited.

While I loved the entire building, there were two aspects of the cathedral that took my breath away. The first was a structure that I assumed was the tomb of a Bohemian king. 

Built in the Baroque style, the structure is spectacular and I was awed by the grandeur of it. Until I saw it, the tomb of François I  was one of my favorite tombs, but  now it  has been displaced by the above structure (although, I still love the structures that the French kings built for themselves).  

The tomb of François I at St. Denis. 

As I mentioned, I assumed that the structure was the tomb of a Bohemian ruler. There was nothing to indicate who it was for, so that seemed to be a likely candidate. 

However, the tomb actually belongs to John of Nepomuk, a Bohemian saint and martyr. There are contrasting stories as to how he became a saint, but the most likely story, and the one recorded by contemporaries, is that he ran afoul of King Wencelaus IV, not to be confused with St. Wencelaus, over a political issue. In 1393, there was a need to appoint a new abbot for the abbey of Kladruby, an influential and rich abbey that Wencelaus wished to control as he fought with his nobles. Wencelaus had a candidate in mind for the position since secular rulers often appointed their own men to influential positions within the Church.  

However, John of Nepomuk, the vicar-general of the archbishop of Prague, confirmed as abbot a candidate that the abbey and the archbishop backed. This candidate was not amenable to Wencelaus and he ordered the torture and death of John of Nepomuk in response. Thus, on March 20, 1393, John of Nepomuk was thrown into the Vltava River after having been tortured. 

His death sparked a rebellion amongst Wencelaus's nobles, many of whom already opposed him. This rebellion led to his imprisonment at the hands of his nobles. Wencelaus was released upon a truce  and the remainder of his reign saw a build-up of religious tensions, which would result in the Hussite Wars.    

Unfortunately, I was unable to discover why John of Nepomuk has a tomb/shrine in the cathedral that was built in the Baroque era. However, the fact that he was a saint of Bohemia, and is still a saint of the Czech Republic, could explain why this shrine was erected within St. Vitus.

The other aspect of St. Vitus that made a lasting impression on me was the Golden Gate. 

The tower was completed during the Baroque period, but the mosaic, shown below, dates from the 14th century and represents the Last Judgement. 

To me, the mosaic is beautiful.  I feel it is a unique combination of Western art and Byzantine art which, if true, makes sense given the Czech Republic's location within Europe. 

St. Vitus was one of the highlights of Prague. It has a fascinating history that is shown by both its architectural styles and by what the cathedral contains. To me, the cathedral alone would have been worth the admission ticket to Prague Castle and I am thankful that I was able to see it.