On Tuesday the 14th April 2026 after breakfast we left the hotel and made our way to the Metro and caught this to the Vyšehrad stop. From here we had a short walk to visit the Vyšehradské Hradby.
We walk through the Leopold Gate pictured above. This gate was built in 1672 as the main entrance to the Citadel. It was designed by the Italian Carlo Lurago, Master of Prague Baroque and named in honour of the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia Leopold I. There was once a moat in front of this gate.
Just a short way pass the Leopold Gate is the Rotunda of St Martin.
The rotunda was built in the 2nd half of the 11th century, and it was turned into gun powder storage when the fortress was established. In 1841 it was threatened by the planned communication between the New Town and Pankrác, but count Karel Chotek managed to preserve the Romanic rotunda. In 1875 it was purchased by the Vyšehrad canonry and was restored according to a project of architect Antonín Baum. Antonín König and Jan Heřman painted the interior wall paintings, and František Sequens painted the altar painting. Today’s appearance is the result of several repairs. The rotunda’s internal diameter is 650 cm; the apse is 220 cm deep, and the walls are 95 – 97 cm thick. Above the portal created in a pseudo-Romanic style, there is a canon ball walled in to commemorate the Prussian siege of Prague in 1757. The entrance was originally to the West. The rotunda has a so called lantern on the roof, edged with a gold-plated cross with a half-moon and the sun.
Walking on we reach the Saints Peter & Paul Basilica.
Founded in 1070–1080 by the King Vratislaus II of Bohemia, the Romanesque basilica suffered a fire in the year 1249 and has been rebuilt in Gothic and later in neo-Gothic style. The basilica features an impressive stone mosaic above its entry, and its twin 58 m towers can be seen atop a hill to the south from along the Vltava River in central Prague.
There was an entrance fee to enter, so we decided not to pay and just admire the exterior.
The current building itself is a neo-Gothic basilica. It was constructed between 1887 and 1903. The first master builder was Joseph Mocker but he died mid-way through construction. It was finished by his partner František Mikš who modified the façade and tower designs from Mocker's original plans. The main part of the church consists of a nave with two side aisles; a large choir, sanctuary and apse; and two side rooms which hold a sacristy and a chapel for Panna Maria Šancovská Our Lady of the Ramparts.
Another interesting feature of the St. Paul and Peter's Basilica design is the spires, which are hollow. They have slender holes making the tops of the towers light and elegant reminiscent of the conic formation of the chestnut flowers one can find blooming in trees along the walkways in the Vyšehrad complex. The spires (and indeed the triangular gable of the façade between them) are frilled with petal like finial protrusions along their length and on their tops, further connecting their likeness to the flower.
Behind the church is located large park and Vyšehrad cemetery, the final resting place of many famous Czechs, including author Karel Čapek and composer Antonín Dvořák. In 2003 the church was elevated to basilica by Pope John Paul II.
We walk pass the Statue of St Wenceslas as pictured below.
The statue of St. Wenceslas located in
Vyšehrad is an early Baroque equestrian sculpture created by
Jan Jiří Bendl around 1678–1680. It was originally situated in the middle of Prague's Wenceslas Square (formerly the Horse Market) until 1879, when it was moved to its current location in the
Štulc Gardens within the Vyšehrad fortress complex.
Vyšehrad (English: "upper castle") is a historic fort in Prague, Czech Republic, just over 3 km southeast of Prague Castle, on the east bank of the Vltava River. It was likely founded in the 10th century. Inside the fort are the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul and the Vyšehrad Cemetery, containing the remains of many famous Czechs, such as Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Karel Čapek, and Alphonse Mucha. It also contains Prague's oldest Rotunda of St. Martin, from the 11th century.
Our walk takes us along the riverfront to the Vyšehrad ramparts, across the Botič Stream valley and up the hill to little-known Karlov, offering inspiring views of the city, as well as a remarkable showcase of architecture. At the foot of Vyšehrad, you’ll discover the beauty of Czech architectural Cubism immortalised in the crystalline forms of the Kovařovic Villa and other buildings.
We walk along the ramparts taking in great views across the city of Prague.
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| Views across Prague with the Žižkov Television Tower in the far distance that has the Crawling Babies sculpture by David Cerny. |
We walk down and through the streets until we reach the riverside and walk on to visit the Dancing House.
Upon reaching the Dancing House, we enter and take the lift to the top floor to visit the rooftop cafe there.
In the Tančící dům - Ginger & Fred Restaurant we sit and have a coffee taking in the views. There is an outside viewing platform but at nearly £15 for the two of we sat inside, we can see the views for free from the windows!
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View to the Šítkovská vodárenská věž (Šítkov Water Tower). |
The Šítkovská vodárenská věž (Šítkov Water Tower) is a historic 47-meter-tall Baroque tower in Prague, known for its distinct tilt. Built in the 17th century on the bank of the Vltava River near the
Mánes Gallery, it served as a water supply hub for over 200 years.
The Dancing House (Czech: Tančící dům), or Ginger and Fred, is the nickname given to the Nationale-Nederlanden building on the Rašínovo nábřeží (Rašín Embankment) in Prague, Czech Republic. It was designed by the Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić in cooperation with Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry on a vacant riverfront plot. The building was designed in 1992. The construction, carried out by BESIX, was completed four years later in 1996.
Gehry originally called the house Ginger and Fred (after the dancers Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire – the house resembles a pair of dancers), but the nickname Ginger & Fred is now mainly used for the restaurant located on the seventh floor of the Dancing House Hotel. Gehry himself later discarded his own idea, as he was "afraid to import American Hollywood kitsch to Prague".
The "Dancing House" is set on a property of great historical significance. Its site was the location of an apartment building destroyed by the U.S. bombing of Prague in 1945. The plot and structure lay decrepit until 1960, when the area was cleared. The neighboring plot was co-owned (until 1948–50, when the Communist regime overtook every larger private property and commercial activities) by the family of Václav Havel, who spent most of his life there. As early as 1986 (during the Communist era), Vlado Milunić, then a respected architect in the Czechoslovak milieu, conceived an idea for a project at the place and discussed it with his neighbour, the then well known (both nationally and internationally) dissident Havel. A few years later, during the Velvet Revolution, Havel became a popular leader and was subsequently elected president of Czechoslovakia. Thanks to his authority, the idea to develop the site grew. Havel eventually decided to have Milunić survey the site, hoping for it to become a cultural centre, though this was not the result.
The style is known as deconstructivist ("new-baroque" to the designers) architecture due to its unusual shape. The "dancing" shape is supported by 99 concrete panels, each a different shape and dimension. On the top of the building is a large twisted structure of metal nicknamed Medusa.
In the middle of a square of buildings from the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the Dancing House has two main parts. The first is a glass tower that narrows at half its height and is supported by curved pillars; the second runs parallel to the river and is characterized by undulating mouldings and unaligned windows.
Dancers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are represented in the structure. A tower made of rock is used to represent Fred. This tower also includes a metal head. A tower made of glass is used to represent Ginger.
This design was driven mainly by aesthetic considerations: aligned windows would make evident that the building has two more floors, although it is the same height as the two adjacent nineteenth century buildings. The windows have protruding frames, such as those of paintings, as the designer intended for them to have a three-dimensional effect. The winding mouldings on the façade also serve to confuse perspective and diminish contrast with the surrounding buildings.
We walk on along the river and walk up Národní and visit Levels, an amusement centre.
Levels offers more than 200 arcade games, state-of-the-art simulators, vibrant bars, and excellent food. Whether you want to enjoy mini golf, billiards, karaoke, or themed bars.
We walk on and walk back through to Wenceslas Square.
Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí) is a 750-metre-long, bustling boulevard in the heart of Prague’s New Town, established by Charles IV in 1348 as a horse market. Today, it serves as a major hub for shopping, nightlife, and culture, featuring the National Museum, numerous hotels, and iconic art nouveau architecture, alongside a rich history of protests and national celebrations.
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| Jindřišská Tower |
This late Gothic tower is part of the Church of St Henry and St Kunhuta and, with its height of 65.7 m, is the highest freestanding bell tower in Prague. Today this structure offers visitors a view from the tenth floor, a restaurant, a museum and a gallery. Another unique feature is the carillon — a set of ten cast bronze bells in the tower attic, designed for listening in the interior of the tower.
We walk back through the city trying to find areas we haven't visited. Seems like weve covered just about everywhere. We catch the tram back to the hotel.
Later that night we go out for our last dinner in Prague to an Italian Restaurant San Carlo Vinohrady on Anglicka. Very nice food and atmosphere.
