Storming the Gates of the Castle, or well, just walking in - Czech Blog post #9

After we got back to thehotel from our trip to Terezin on Saturday, we took a bathroom break, and Ilaid down for about five minutes, before we took off for our next adventure. 

We had been close to thebase of Prague Castle on our other walks, so we figured we could make the walkthere and back and still have time to wander around the grounds. The two-mile trekthere wasn’t bad, but that hike up to the summit of the hill got our heartspumping. 

But the views! Totallyworth breaking a sweat. 

We wandered around for abit, then plunged through the gate (which really didn’t seem like a gate at thetime) and started exploring.   

Unfortunately, you neededa ticket to get inside any of the buildings, but we figured we had enough tosee outside. 

How much have I told youabout Prague Castle? 

It is actually anextensive castle complex and the official residence and workplace of thepresident of the Czech Republic. During its existence, the complex served asthe seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, and presidents ofCzechoslovakia. Building began in the 9th century, but as each new king came topower, he added on a new building, until the entire compound reached 1,870 feetin length and 430 feet in width. 

According to the GuinnessBook of Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world,occupying an area of almost 750,000 square feet. I know I mentioned that before,but I finally looked up what makes it an ancient castle as opposed to any othercastle.  

It has to have been built duringthe Middle Ages, has to have served as both a fortified military stronghold anda residence for a lord or ruler, and has features from that time period, suchas thick stone walls, towers, arrow slits, and gatehouses. 

After a quick lunch at a caféwithin the walls, we started wandering around in earnest. Until we walked outfrom an alley way to this: 

St. Vitus Cathedral is thelargest and most important religious building in Prague. Apart from religiousservices, coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place here. Severalpatron saints, sovereigns, noblemen, and archbishops are buried there. 

The current cathedral isthe third religious building to be on this site, all dedicated to St. Vitus.

Construction of this one beganon November 21, 1344. Due to wars, changing of architects, and lots of other drama,the cathedral wasn’t declared to be finished until 1929! (Keep that in mind ifyou are personally in the midst of a construction nightmare.)

I’m not sure what else wesaw as we walked along, but it was all breathtaking. Including the views fromthe top.