St. Vitus Cathedral is the biggest, most important church in Prague. It’s located in Prague Castle, is designed in Gothic style, and is an important spiritual symbol of the Czech state.

The Cathedral took six centuries to build. Building began in 1344 by Mathias Arras and Petr Parler. The final phase of the cathedral’s construction ended during 1873 to 1929.

For lovers of architectural design, Parler’s vaults will be of interest. He characterized the ornate and extraordinary vaulting in the St. Vitus Cathedral that eventually lead to this style becoming popular during the Late Gothic period in Central Europe. Some scholars think that Parler’s architectural style and design was influenced by the English Gothic.

The cathedral also contains several underground tombs of Czech kings, and was also once used for the coronation ceremonies of kings and queens.

In the center of the Cathedral is the Wenceslas Chapel. Its walls are full of precious stones and wall paintings of the Passion cycle. These are all original 14th century decorations. There is also a door in the southwestern corner of the chapel that leads to a special chamber where the Bohemian coronation jewels are kept. This chamber is called the Crown Chamber.