EARLY ROMANESQUE BASILICA OF SAINT LAWRENCE AND ITS PRECURSOR
Vyšehrad and Its Earliest Remaining Structures from the Early Middle Ages
The Vyšehrad compound with the remains of early medieval architecture is one of the few places where visitors may see an authentic space of archeologically uncovered structures ranking among the oldest architectural monuments in Bohemia. Moreover,…
TYN COURT (UNGELT)
Tyn Court is one of the well-preserved medieval courts, from time immemorial regarded as a witness of the earliest history of the settlement below Prague Castle. It is recorded in written sources from the rule of Bořivoj II (1100–1107) and in…
THIRD COURTYARD
The third courtyard is situated above the western part of the former early medieval residence of Bohemian princes and kings and the location of the most important structures such as the rotunda and later basilica of St Vitus. There were also…
MONASTERY OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE CROSS WITH THE RED STAR AND THE RUINS OF JUDITH BRIDGE
Monastic church and Romanesque bridge
The Monastery of the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star adjacent to the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is the home monastery of the original Bohemian religious order of knights established by Agnes of Bohemia. The foundation stone for the…
CHURCH OF SAINTS PHILIP AND JAMES IN BETHLEHEM SQUARE
Disappeared medieval church
In the Middle Ages, the Church of Saints Philip and James was situated in the Bethlehem Square in front of the Bethlehem Chapel façade. The archaeologist Ivan Borkovský uncovered the church foundations between 1948 and 1949. Very little information…
ŠÁRKA VALLEY
Prehistoric Settlement Region and Early Medieval Šárka Hillfort
An elevated settlement on the summit of Šesták Rock, a rocky promontory protruding above the valley from Liboc on the east, was the centre of the prehistoric settlement in the valley of the Šárka Stream. The local findings gave name to the middle…
REMAINS OF THE MEDIEVAL BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL AND THE ROMANESQUE ‘BRIDGE’
St Peter’s Basilica (in the 12th century renamed the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul) was founded by Prince Vratislav II around 1070 as a chapter church. It has undergone a complex building development, the evidence of which is hidden under…
ST VITUS ROTUNDA AND BASILICA, MONASTERY OF THE PRAGUE CHURCH AND EPISCOPAL PALACE
Perhaps as early as the 920s, Prince Wenceslas founded a rotunda consecrated to Saint Vitus in the very centre of Prague Castle, on the site that dominated the eastern part of the Hradčany promontory. After his body was transferred from Stará…
ROYAL CANONRY OF PREMONSTRATENSIANS AT STRAHOV
Monastery with the Remains of Romanesque Structures
Strahov Monastery, one of the crucial religious compounds in Prague, occupies a prominent position above the Lesser Town basin. Its early days are closely bound to the ruling Přemyslid dynasty. The foundations for the Premonstratensian monastery …
GOTHIC BURGHER HOUSES IN OLD TOWN SQUARE
House no. 604 – so-called Tyn School – is situated at the corner of Old Town Square and Tyn Street. Originally, there were two separate burgher houses, first recorded in 1359 and 1363, which were joined together after 1407. There is a…
CHURCH OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST AT NA ZÁBRADLÍ
Disappeared medieval church
The dawn of the Romanesque Church of Saint John the Baptist remains unknown. The first written record comes from 1320, mentioning the structure in connection with Father Jan. The church was surrounded by a small cemetery, parsonage (no. 204), and…
BETHLEHEM CHAPEL AND ITS UNDERGROUND
Remains of the medieval chapel with in situ archaeological findings
The current image of the Bethlehem Chapel is the outcome of the generous reconstruction from 1950–1954 using the partly preserved medieval structures according to the design of Jaroslav Fragner. The burghers of Prague, shopkeeper Jan Kříž and…
PRAŠNÝ MOST (POWDER BRIDGE)
With the Habsburg accession to the Bohemian throne after the Battle of Mohács (1526), Prague Castle was extensively reconstructed into a Renaissance residence which was most reflected in the adaptation of the adjacent area behind the Brusnice Stream…
PALACES OF MEDIEVAL VYŠEHRAD
During the rule of Vratislav II (1061–1092, crowned 1085/1086) and his immediate successors, Vyšehrad was the chief Přemyslid residence. It is likely that its imposing architecture temporarily overshadowed the traditional Přemyslid residence…
THE VANISHED VLTAVA ISLAND AT KLÁROV
In the Middle Ages, there was an area adjacent to the fortified Lesser Town settlement below Prague Castle which was referred to as At the Sands because of the sandy silts accumulated during floods. The written records of the second half of the 13th…
FORMER MILITARY QUARTERS OF GEORGE OF PODĚBRADY (PALLADIUM)
Romanesque housing ruins
One of the largest archaeological researches in the centre of Prague was carried out on the site of the present Palladium Shopping Centre which covered the former riding school and the remaining residue of the military quarters main building.…
VINOŘ HILLFORT
Polycultural Locality – Early Přemyslid Hillfort and High Medieval Fortress
Archaeologists have been familiar with the locality since the 19th century. In the 1980s, a detailed plan of the hillfort was produced and surface collection was carried out. The Institute of Archaeology of the Faculty of Arts of Charles University…
SAINT GEORGE’S MONASTERY AND BASILICA AT PRAGUE CASTLE
Prior to 921, Prince Vratislav I founded the Church of Saint George as the second church at Prague Castle. It soon functioned as a burial ground where the remains of Princess Ludmila were transferred in 925. Later, Boleslav I dedicated St George…
ZÁVIST AND ŠANCE HILLFORTS
The most extensive Celtic fortification system in Bohemia at the turn of the Early and Late Iron Age and the later Celtic oppidum
The Hradiště Hill towering about 200 metres above the Vltava right riverbank, is situated along the south border of Prague and overlooks the Vltava and Berounka confluence. On the northeast, its slopes descend to the Břežany Stream valley, on the…
SIEGE CAMP IN FRONT OF NEW CASTLE NEAR KUNRATICE
Ruins of a fortified military camp
Multiple terrain adjustments have survived in the centre of Kunratice Forest in the outer ward of Nový hrad (New Castle) which may be interpreted as a medieval military camp. As indicated by chronicle records, its origin may be associated with the…
