The old legendary fortress of Vyšehrad can be an ideal getaway from the hustle and bustle of Prague on a bright sunny day.
Vyšehrad in Czech translates into Upper Castle in English. Perched high on a massive rock called Vyšehrad, the fortress offers magnificent views of the Vltava River, probably the best in Prague, from the top of the castle.
This 10th-century fortress was the seat of Czech kings. By the 17th century, it started serving as a military fortress.
Now, this mammoth fortress is considered to be a National Cultural Monument of the Czech Republic and offers many interesting historical monuments inside a public park.
Getting to Vyšehrad Castle from Prague
The castle is about 6 kilometres away in the south of Prague city centre.
The easiest way to get to the castle is by Metro Line C. Get down at the Vyšehrad Station and walk for about 5 minutes to reach the castle.
If you have to take a tram, don't mind hiking up.
Get down at the tram station Vyton right across the road below the castle. You will have to take the stairs to reach the castle.
If you get down at tram stop Albertov, then you will have to take a short steep climb through a residential colony to reach the Brick Gate of the castle. This is what we had to do for lack of more research on the day of our visit.
Around Vyšehrad Castle
Entry to the fortress and its sprawling gardens and ramparts is free. You must buy tickets for the individual monuments, the Basilica St. Peter and Paul and the Gorlice Casemates.
Mind you, if you wish to take the guided tour of the fortress, then bookings have to be made a week in advance in the language of your choice. The official website is https://www.prague.eu/en
There are many things to do around this fortress. It's a good idea to do some basic research about the fortress before the visit.
As you enter the gate to the fortress, climb the steps on the right to reach the famous Vyšehrad Cemetery.
The cemetery has 600 graves of famous Czech nationals, poets, sculptors and artists.
There is a common tomb of some well-known Czech nationals called the Slavin Tomb.
The tomb is adorned with a beautiful sarcophagus with inscriptions on it.
One can never imagine a cemetery to be so stunning. We spent a great deal of time looking at the marvellous structures.
From the cemetery, walk towards the Fortress Park. You will see families lazing around or having a picnic around this place.
The area is very peaceful and is adorned with six amazing stone statues, each of them a marvel of its own.
These statues are historically important because I believe they were moved here to save them from the Nazis.
From the park, you can walk to the Basilica of Saint Peter and Paul. This Neo-Gothic structure has a stunning outer facade.
The basilica is famous for its paintings in the Art Nouveau style, the most prominent being the panel painting of the Virgin Mary of Rain.
My Tip -
You will have to buy a ticket if you wish to enter the basilica. Tickets are available at the counter next to it.
From the basilica, we walked to the Rotunda of St Martin. This is an 11th-century small chapel built on a circular platform and is today the oldest preserved Romanesque-style monument in all of Prague.
Vyšehrad Fortress also houses the famous Casemates, a complex system of underground passages in the ramparts of the fortress where troops could move without being noticed.
There is a large underground room called the Gorlice. The highlight of this room is that it has six of the original statues of Charles Bridge preserved here.
My Tip -
The Casemates can be seen only as a part of a guided tour of the Casemates and the Gorlice Hall. If you have time, then go for it. You can also make online bookings in advance.
We gave this tour a miss since we had reached Prague from Austria after seeing many magnificent castles like the Hohensalzburg in Salzburg, so we'd had our fill of castles.
Besides, the Vyšehrad Fortress offers splendid views of the entire city of Prague from the top of its ramparts. And that's exactly what we did for the rest of the evening and got to witness some amazing views of the river and the city...
My parting advice to anyone visiting the Vyšehrad Fortress would be to -
One, take the metro line if possible. That way you can avoid the tedious hike up to the castle.
Two, go on a bright day to get stunning views from the top.
Three, keep some extra time on hand to see the basilica and the casements. The area is not very touristy, so you can easily buy tickets then and there depending on the time you have. For guided tours, though, you need to make advance bookings.
So, if you do visit the Vyšehrad Fortress, then share your thoughts with me....
And if you're interested in getting some practical and useful travel tips, click here
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