Vysehrad cemetery and Slavin burial vault. Vysehrad Cemetery, Prague (Czech Republic) - “The most famous cemetery in Prague is Vysehrad, where the entire flower of the Czech nation is buried

Cemeteries are usually not included in the program of a standard tourist excursion - as a rule, these are not the most fun and interesting places. But exceptions occur when a large number of prominent people are buried in one place, and the design of tombstones and the cemetery space itself is treated as work on a work of art. This is exactly what happened with Prague, where there are several remarkable burial sites. One of them is the Visegrad Cemetery.

From the Middle Ages to the national revival

In 1070, the Visegrad Chapter was founded, independent of the Bishop of Prague and reporting directly to the Pope. For such a non-trivial occasion, it was decided to build a temple. Decided - done, and today this capitular church is known as the Basilica of Peter and Paul. It was this that became the starting point for the appearance of a cemetery on this site.

Archaeological research shows that people began to be buried near this church in the 11th–12th centuries, that is, almost immediately. It is possible that at first the burials were more or less spontaneous, and the cemetery as such was formed at the capitular church in 1260. They began to bury parishioners and members of this very chapter there. In the basilica itself, by the way, there is a glass chest with remains that are believed to belong to members of the Czech Přemyslid dynasty. Their graves were destroyed, and the bones themselves were scattered throughout the cemetery.

Time passed, the cemetery grew and by the 17th century it already had the official status of a burial place for the parish of the Visegrad Chapter. In 1784, it suddenly found itself in a special position: Emperor Joseph II issued a decree that ordered the abolition of all cemeteries within the city, and even tombs in monasteries and churches were included in this number. On June 1, 1786, cemeteries were created outside the gates of the municipality, where Prague residents began to bury their dead. Hygiene was cited as one of the reasons for this decision. Be that as it may, the only place for which the imperial decree was not a decree turned out to be the Visegrad cemetery - an exception was made for it. Otherwise, it remained a common burial place and remained so until the second half of the 19th century, when a sense of national identity gripped the Czechs.

Revolution and the idea of ​​organizing a memorial

The spring of 1848 went down in history as the Spring of Nations - this term began to denote revolutions that swept across several European states at once. The Austrian Empire, of which the modern Czech Republic was then a part, was no exception. Uprisings swept across Austria itself, and throughout Hungary, and the Czech Republic - the entire empire rebelled from edge to edge. There were many nations in the state, there were even more disagreements between them, but there was not enough freedom. The Czechs sought to gain political and cultural autonomy and establish civil rights.

We managed to achieve something. A national guard was created, and the Czech language was officially recognized as equal to German on the territory of the Czech Republic. By the beginning of summer, the revolution was suppressed, but the Czechs managed to get the main thing. They felt themselves to be a united people, capable of fighting for their future and which, like other nations, has its own heroes and outstanding figures. Popular consciousness began to emerge in many areas, and the idea soon emerged of organizing a common burial place for all those who had contributed greatly to the national revival. In “big” European countries, similar cemeteries already existed, and the Czechs wanted to have their own.

This idea originated in the Svatobor Association of Czech Writers, which was founded in 1862 by Frantisek Palacky, a politician, historian, important figure in the national movement, and founder of Czech historiography. In a word, one of the fathers and pillars of the nation. When the concept of the future memorial took final shape, it was time to look for a location. It was not appropriate for the most worthy sons and daughters of the people to rest God knows where - something special was needed.

The choice fell on Vysehrad. This is a place associated with ancient Czech legends; a complete and inexhaustible source of Czech history. According to legend, the local fortress was founded by Prince Krok himself, the son of Czech, the legendary ancestor of the Czech people. Here was the residence of the princes and kings of the Czech Republic, and the most famous of them, Charles IV, established the tradition of starting the coronation procession at Visegrad. A more suitable location for the burial of modern national heroes and outstanding figures could not be found, especially since the cemetery already existed there.

Arrangement of the memorial

At first, only individual tombstones were installed. The first permanent inhabitant of the memorial of outstanding Czechs was Vaclav Hanka - writer, librarian, Slavic scholar, archive keeper and simply a patriot. His grave is located at the main entrance, the monument above it was the first in this cemetery, and it is crowned with the symbol of “Svatobor” - three hands that hold a ring. This composition symbolizes the society’s motto – “Help – Enlighten – Remember”.

Thanks to the efforts of the patriotic priest Vaclav Stulz, the small burial area was increased and by the end of the century before last it had reached its current size. The southern and eastern parts became places of active, let's say, development - beautiful monuments appeared there one after another. Over time, they developed into a real exhibition of memorial sculpture, where you think more about art and eternity than about death.

The best creators of their time worked on the compositions, among whom, for example, Bohumil Kafka And Frantisek Bilek. Here you can see sculptural groups and single statues, in which romantic, ancient and Christian motifs appear. The compositions are plastic, made of bronze and marble; Some works are realistic and accurate, others are abstract, and others are made in the Art Nouveau style. The niches of the tombs are gilded and painted, decorated with mosaics, and this magnificence is framed by a lace of metal lanterns and fences. There's a lot to see.

In 1885–1887, the Church of Peter and Paul underwent reconstruction in the neo-Gothic style, and at the same time, the thoughtful and conceptual design of the Visegrad Memorial Cemetery began. The first architect to plan the space of the Vysehrad cemetery in Prague was Antonin Barwittius.

Made a great contribution to the design of the memorial Antonin Viel, who created the neo-Renaissance arcades with Tuscan columns that decorate the perimeter of the cemetery. He also created Slavin - a monumental tomb, the dominant feature of this entire noble space.

Slavin and the celebrities of the cemetery

Translated from Czech, the word “slavín” means “pantheon”. In the context of the Visegrad cemetery, this is the name of the common grave where the most remarkable and outstanding people of the Czech Republic are buried. This monumental tomb was built between 1883 and 1893 and consists of a rectangular stone pedestal erected on a platform accessed by a granite staircase decorated with balustrades.

On top of the pedestal is decorated with a statue of a sad angel bending over the deceased; this angel is called the Genius of the Motherland. On the sides of the pedestal there are figures that symbolize the victories and sorrow of the Czech Republic. Attached to the front of the tomb is a plaque listing the first 15 people buried in the pantheon. The composition is surrounded on three sides by walls with memorials and niches intended for the installation of urns.

In 1929, the tomb was reconstructed by Josef Franta - it received doors, windows, lighting, and bronze decor. The inside of the crypt was decorated with mosaics, the walls were decorated with Italian marble.

Note that politicians were not buried here - this place is intended for scientists and creative people. The poet was the first to rest in Slavin Julius Seyer, who died in 1901. Now more than five dozen men and women who make up the pantheon of glory of the Czech people have found their final refuge there.

In Slavin and generally in the Vysehrad cemetery in Prague there are the graves of more than 600 famous cultural and scientific figures of the Czech Republic. The most famous, perhaps, include the writers Karel Capek, Bozena Nemtsova And Yana Neruda, composer Antonin Dvorak, sculptor Alphonse Muchu.

In addition, the last name Kafka can be seen here, which misleads some people. Bohumil Kafka, the sculptor, is buried at Vyšehrad, not his namesake writer Franz Kafka, who is probably the most recognizable representative of Prague culture. Franz rests in the New Jewish Cemetery, but even without him, Visegrad is quite interesting, beautiful and majestic. This place and these people are worth visiting.

Vysehrad is a historical district of Prague, located above the Vltava River. This river is famous among local townspeople for various historical events. Several centuries ago, an entire dynasty of Přemyslid kings lived in this territory.

Today Vysehrad is an ancient area where the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul proudly stands. Prague Castle, consisting of an ancient fortress and other architectural monuments, was once a very important place for the princes living here, and even King Vratislav II took part of these places under your possession.

Since that time, many historical events have happened in Visegrad: the first coin was minted, a stone castle was built in the Romanesque style, royal houses and holy buildings were erected. Under the leadership of Charles IV, the palace of the kings was renovated and new fortresses were built. However, already in the 17th century, Vysehrad became a place protected on all sides by a strong brick wall, and the local cemetery was henceforth intended for the burials of important Czech people.

Composers, musicians:
Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) - Czech composer, founder of the national school of composition.
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) is an outstanding Czech composer.
Zdenek Fibich (1850-1900) - Czech composer, representative of the romantic movement.
Otakar Ostrcil (1879-1935) - Czech composer and conductor.
Wilem Kurtz Jr. (1872-1945) - pianist and teacher.
Karel Ancherl (1908-1973) - conductor.
Rafael Kubelik (1914-1996) - conductor and composer.

See all photos in the feed below

Visegrad Cemetery is the burial place of almost 600 prominent representatives of Czech culture and science, as well as a gallery of cemetery sculptures and tombstones created by the best sculptors. In the eastern part of the cemetery there is the Slavin tomb - a common grave of men and women who glorified the Czech people with their deeds.

Visegrad Cemetery – necropolis of the best representatives of the Czech people, photo Aris Jansons

Tomb of Slavín, photo Artur Kutskyi

The main part of the cemetery is the monumental burial of Slavín. The main alley leads to this memorial complex. There is a staircase here that goes up to an elevated plateau. In the center of the complex there is a rectangular stone pedestal. On its upper surface there is a statue of the Genius of the Fatherland - a sad angel who bent over the sarcophagus of the deceased. Along the edges of the monument there are two allegorical figures: on the left – the Sorrowful Fatherland, on the right – the Victorious Fatherland. The tomb site is surrounded on three sides by memorial walls hiding burial niches.

The National Pantheon of Slavin was designed by Antonin Viel. The sculpture was designed by Josef Mauder. This tomb can be compared in importance to the Kremlin wall, but politicians were not buried in the Czech Pantheon. Representatives of the creative intelligentsia and scientists lie here. The patriotic poet Julius Seyer was the first to find his final refuge in Slavin in 1901.

On the front wall of the tomb you can see panels on which famous names are engraved. Here lie the writers - Karel Capek and Karel Macha; sculptors of the “Great Three” - Myslbek, Sucharda, Bohumil Kafka; famous artists - and Vaclav Spala; architects: Jan Stursa and Josef Goczar. Many famous names can be read on Slavin’s memorial plaques.

Visegrad Cemetery is a memory of people who lived their lives for the good of the country and people. The high towers of the Church of Peter and Paul protect their eternal peace.

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Darlings, tell me, do you like to get up early when you are in another city, eat eggs and toast with orange jam for breakfast and go for a walk around the sleepy, sweetly yawning city? That's what I love. Only it takes me, as a rule, not to central squares and sweet tourist quarters, but to places that are not so popular for morning walks. IN Czech Republic V Prague it turned out to be such a place Visegrad Cemetery. We went outside and immediately found ourselves in thick fog. The feeling is as if you climbed into the beard of Santa Claus and found a whole city there.

“The weather is perfect for visiting cemeteries,” I and my brave morning-walking colleagues thought, and together we boldly stepped into the fog.


The Visegrad Cemetery is located near the city center, away from noisy traffic, high above the Vltava embankment. We went there on foot. You can also get there by metro (line C) to Visegrad station.


We are in place.


At the entrance, visiting hours and a map with a list of the deceased indicating burial places are indicated.


An interesting observation: in America, angels mourn over graves - mostly young women, bowing to the name of the deceased, covering their faces with their hands, or, in inconsolable grief, falling on stone slabs. In Cuba, at the Colon cemetery, every second memorial is crowned with pot-bellied, milky marble, cheerful babies with touching dove wings. In Prague - at the Visegrad cemetery we met several times angels pierced by arrows.

We also met traditional angels


And angels without wings. Perhaps one of the most touching images.


An old cemetery has been located on the territory of the existing Visegrad Cemetery since 1260. Since the 17th century, burials of the Visegrad Chapter parish have been held here. In the 60s of the 19th century, church officials Stulz Vaclav and Karlach Mikulas led the initiative to organize a national cemetery.


Thus, the Visegrad cemetery became the burial place of almost 600 outstanding representatives of national culture and science, as well as a gallery of cemetery sculptures and tombstones created by the best sculptors of that time. Such as J. V. Myslbek, F. Bilek, B. Kafka, O. Spaniel and others.


They were also buried in the Visegrad cemetery


The arcades of A. Viegla with cross vaults rest on Tuscan columns; they are made of sandstone and decorated with artistic paintings.


The main alley at the cemetery led us to the pantheon of the most famous personalities of the national culture of the Czech Republic (in Czech, Slavin). Frantisek Palacky, being the head of the Svatobor association in 1862, proposed to build such a tomb for all Czech celebrities of that time.


Among the famous people buried in the cemetery are the writers: Karel Hynek Macha, Karel Capek, Bozena Nemcova, Vitezslav Nezval, Jan Neruda. Czech artists whose bodies rested in peace in the cemetery: J. Marzhak, M. Goly, M. Ales, A. Huttissi, K. Purkynė. Sculptors Vaclav Levy and Otakar Spanel take pride of place with dignity. For some reason, I definitely wanted to see and pay my respects to Alphonse Mucha. Yes, yes, to the same Alphonse Mucha, whose works have received a rebirth over the past 5-7 years in modern culture. Now it's in the mainstream.


Czech scientists J. Heyrovsky, who developed the polarography method, and the famous cytologist Ev. Purkynė are also buried here. Composers A. Dvorak, B. Smetana, Z. Fibich and others.


There are many unusual sculptures here.


It was as if the sculptors were faced with the task of highlighting each buried person and drawing attention to themselves.


Looks like a bird


Swan


.


Persons


and expressions


.


We walked through the Visegrad cemetery in the morning. On Thursday. Along completely empty alleys.


In addition to the three of us strolling, cozy, neat nuns were leisurely working on the cemetery grounds.


They swept fallen leaves from the slabs. And there was something incredibly calm in their movements. Basics. Unchangeable. For some reason I immediately thought that they certainly knew what the meaning of life was. So they are in no hurry to get anywhere.


Perhaps at noon on a weekend, when there are many visitors, the magic of this place is felt less clearly, in a different way. But that Thursday morning there was an absolutely amazing atmosphere of calm and tranquility. The fog spread like a light flowing organza, leaving droplets of moisture on the almost transparent wings of the angels.


Another piece of magic that’s hard to look away from.

More


Wings forgotten by an angel


And the towers of the Basilica of St. Peter and Paul disappear completely mystically into the fog


And one more thing... You constantly feel that there is someone else here besides you. Suddenly


Perhaps because there are a lot of flowers in pots, candles and crosses carefully laid out with chestnuts.


During the funeral rite, the body of the deceased in a coffin or his ashes in an urn were displayed near the wall for the last farewell to loving relatives and people.


More moods


The day woke up and the rays of the sun made their way through the fog


Birth of a new day


We spent no more than an hour on the territory of the Visegrad cemetery. Perhaps if we did not have to return to work, we would linger and new interesting details would be revealed to us. However, this time was enough for me to feel the peace and unusualness of this place.


We quickly walked towards the center. The fog was clearing, and a bald white man, very similar to Casper, smiled at us.


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For those who are interested in the topic of the mystical and cemeteries, I invite you here

There was a bell tower in the cemetery near the church. They say that Dean Václav Klimes built it on the site of the bell tower of Charles IV.

Canon Stultz sought to transform the small, nondescript cemetery into a truly national one. The cemetery has been expanded. At the end of the 19th century, arcades were built. The cemetery acquired its current size - 81 are.

In this small space there are crammed more than 600 graves of mostly well-known people or outstanding ones in their field of activity. Ordinary people, wealthy townsfolk, who are now completely forgotten, also rest here.

The cemetery chapel with the chapter burial vault at the Visegrad Cemetery was built as part of the northern arcade in 1899. The painting of the arcades and neo-Renaissance decor was performed by the artist Rudolf Rzhigovsky, inspired by the Roman catacombs and Raphael's loggias in the Vatican.

In the 60s of the 19th century, the society of Czech writers “Svatobor” arose, and its branch, under the leadership of Frantisek Ladislav Rieger (1818-1903), began organizing Slavin - the national Pantheon for the burial of the most honored representatives of the people.

For Slavin, a cemetery was chosen at Vysehrad, steeped in old Czech legends and the glory of the princely and royal residence. The cemetery, expanded since the 60s of the 19th century, gradually turned into a national burial ground. The Slavin tomb became the dominant feature of the cemetery, its completion. Canon Karlach took care of the improvement of the cemetery and the construction of Slavin. The Chapter provided a cemetery plot for Slavin. In the early 90s, the necessary funds for the construction of the tomb were provided on his own initiative by Peter Fischer, a firewood seller and former elder of Smichov.

The construction was entrusted to the architect Antonin Wiel, the sculpture was performed by Joseph Mauder. Slavin was completed in 1893, but philanthropist Peter Fischer did not live to see this moment and was buried near the tomb he financed.

The sculptural design is represented by allegories of a saddened homeland and a rejoicing homeland on the sides, and a sarcophagus with the Genius of the homeland at the top. The composition is complemented by a solemn inscription. To quote flowery language, Slavin was intended “for the burial of outstanding people who deserved more than others to the Czech people, people who, with famous writings, artistic works, most important discoveries or unusual sacrifices, severe struggles or beneficial successes, expanded the honor and glory of the Czech people beyond the borders of their homeland "

The idea is good, but difficult to implement. Many of the greats did not want to find their final rest in Slavina, but wanted to be buried in other cemeteries. Sometimes relatives objected. But time is an inexorable judge. Nowadays you can see here both world-famous names, those known only in the Czech Republic, and also practically forgotten ones.

In Slavin are buried: Julius Zeyer (1841-1901), poet, writer and translator; Wácslav Wladiwoj Tomek (1818-1905), historian; Josef Ladislav Píč (1847-1911), historian and archaeologist; Josef Václav Sládek (1845-1912), poet and translator; Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853-1912), poet and translator; Josef Král (1853-1917), professor of philology; Ružena Svobodová (1868-1920), writer; Jan V. Novák (1853-1920), literary historian; Jan Klecanda (1855-1920), writer and journalist; Josef Václav Myslbek (1848-1922), sculptor; Jan štursa (1880-1925), sculptor; Josef Gruber (1865-1925), professor of economics; Vojtích Hynais (1854-1925), artist; Ema Destinnová (1878-1930), singer; Kamil Hilbert (1869-1933), architect; Jaroslav Hilbert (1871-1936), playwright; Antonín Klášterský (1866-1938), poet and translator; Alfons Mucha (1860-1939), artist; Jan Kubelík (1880-1940), violin virtuoso; František Křižík (1847-1941), inventor; Oldřich Hujer (1880-1942), professor of philology; Bohumil Kafka (1878-1942), sculptor; František Xaver Svoboda (1860-1943), writer; Josef Hora (1891-1945), poet, journalist and translator; Josef Gočár (1880-1945), architect; Václav špála (1885-1946), artist; Karel Toman (1877-1946), básník; Jan Heřman (1886-1946), piano virtuoso; Ladislav Jan Saloun (1870-1946), sculptor; Karel Engelmuller (1872-1950), theater critic and historian; Vilém Zítek (1890-1956), singer; Jaroslav Kocián (1883-1950), violinist; Marie Pujmanová (1893-1958), writer; Jan Lauda (1898-1959), sculptor; Karel Honzík (1900-1960), architect; Ferdinand Pujman (1899-1961), director; Otakar Mařák (1872-1939), singer; Karel Hoffmann (1871-1936), violinist; Josef štefan Kubín (1864-1965), writer; Jaroslav Fragner (1898-1967), architect; Antonín Pelc (1895-1967), artist; Richard Kubla (1890-1964), singer; Vojta Novák (1886-1966), actor and director; Otilie Benišková (1882-1967), actress; Zdeník Stípánek (1896-1968), actor; František Maxián (1907-1971), piano virtuoso; Kamila Ungrová (1887-1972), singer; Vítízslav Vejražka (1915-1973), actor; Antonin Strnadel (1910-1975), malíř; Eduard Kohout (1889-1976), herec; Ladislav Boháč (1907-1978), actor; Jaroslav Marvan (1901-1974), actor; Václav Bednář (1905-1987), singer; Rafael Kubelík (1914-1996), conductor; Oskar Nedbal (1874-1930), conductor and musician.