Vysehrad cemetery and Slavin burial vault. Visegrad Cemetery From the Middle Ages to the National Revival
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, Bogumil 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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Czech archaeologists claim that Prague began with Vysehrad. This hill, according to legend, has seen many famous personalities, from Krok, the son of the progenitor of the entire Czech people, to famous cultural figures who found peace in the local cemetery. In fact, this is not a cemetery, but a memorial, which is recognized as a national monument of the Czech state. In terms of its significance, the Visegrad Cemetery can be comparable to the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
It is located next to the majestic Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and is a small plot of land surrounded by a fence. Entrance to the cemetery is free.
Vysehrad is not a crowded place at all, much less a cemetery. Here you can rarely find tourists armed with photo and video cameras. But those who know about this place will not fail to visit the burial places of Jan Neruda, Bedrich Smetana, Karel Capek, Bozena Nemcova and other equally famous writers, composers, and politicians. For better orientation among the graves, the entire territory of the cemetery is divided into 15 sectors, but examining all the tombstones will not take much time, so it is better not to look for the graves of famous people, but simply walk along the paths of the cemetery, noting the original tombstone sculptures. By the way, famous sculptors worked on many of them.
The eastern side of the cemetery is occupied by the sculptural composition-mausoleum “Slavin”. An angel in long robes bent over the sarcophagus, guarding the sleep of the illustrious sons of the fatherland.
The Vysehrad cemetery is located in the oldest part of Prague - in Vysehrad. Vysehrad is an ancient fortress located on a hill with stunning views of the Vltava and Prague Castle.
Vysehrad is the abode of Czech rulers. It was from here that the first ruler of Prague, Princess Libuše, predicted great destiny and glory for Prague. It’s difficult to argue about fame - Prague is flooded with tourists in any season. And a visit to Vysehrad, and with it the Vysehrad cemetery, is included in the mandatory tourist program. And sometimes there are just crowds of people there, especially on those days when a large number of tourist groups with guides flock.
To be honest, the Visegrad cemetery is not one of my favorites. It’s too crowded here: the Japanese are running around with cameras at the ready, there are excursions in many languages, it feels like being in a museum. Everything around seems to have been washed and wiped with rags and cleaning agents, all the statues and tombstones have been polished and restored. However, there is an explanation for this - the entire flower of the Czech nation is buried here - artists, sculptors, writers, musicians, politicians.
As I already wrote in my previous review of the Old Don Cemetery, in Europe they treat cemeteries completely differently than in Russia. Moreover, if this cemetery has the status of a museum. This cemetery is cherished, no one cries here, no sorrow is felt in the air here. The Visegrad cemetery is precisely a necropolis-museum. It is very small, located behind and to the left of the Basilica of St. Peter and Paul.
On the gate (which is on the opposite side of the entrance to the basilica) there is the inscription Pax vobis - “Peace be with you.”
The main “pearl” of the necropolis is the Slavin tomb - a common grave (here it seems like something like a military mass grave, but it’s not at all like that) of the most prominent Czech figures - Alphonse Mucha, Bohumil Kafka (not the Kafka who wrote “The Castle” and “ Transformation", he is buried at Olshansky New European), Karel Capek and many others.
The cemetery is not too old. It stands on the site of a very ancient churchyard, dating back to the 12th century, but it was rebuilt and dug up, and from the 17th century, dead parishioners of the Visegrad Chapter began to be buried here.
There is no special atmosphere in the cemetery. Even when I walked here in a snowless and surprisingly warm December (in a dress without tights and a warm jacket) early in the morning, and there was no one in the cemetery except me, I still didn’t feel anything special. There is no cemetery atmosphere at all, as if you are walking in a museum. Aunties periodically run around with rags and buckets, rubbing marble, scraping fences.
From time to time I came there to take photographs, and photographed there myself, but
in this regard, the Olshanskoe cemetery is more suitable, it is more beautiful there, and everything is wilder, more unbridled. You can feel the hand of time there, but on Visegradsky they argue with time.
There are flowers everywhere, in summer and winter - tourists and newlyweds, historical circles and various organizations constantly supply them to the deceased.
The cemetery gallery pleases the eye.
There are simply stunning sculptures there; you can spend hours looking at them.
Suddenly the last statue does not shine with cleanliness, which is surprising.
And some more beautiful cemetery moments:
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.
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 Barvittius.
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 Cemetery Celebrities
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 Karela 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.
The Vysehrad cemetery in Prague is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful necropolises in the world. However, the reason for its popularity is different: in any other cemetery in the Czech Republic you will not find such a concentration of great names as here. Hundreds of outstanding figures are buried in this land, who in their time contributed to the development of Czech culture, education, national identity and state independence.
Decoration and architecture
Initially, only individual monuments were erected at the Visegrad cemetery. The first of them appeared over the grave of the writer and philologist Vaclav Hanka, not far from the main entrance to the cemetery. At its top is the symbol of Svyatobor - three hands holding a circle, as a symbol of the main motto of the community “Help! Light up! Remember!
The first architect of the cemetery was Antonin Barvitius, and the neo-Renaissance arcades with Tuscan columns surrounding its territory and the Slavin tomb were designed by the talented architect Antonin Viel.
Josef Myslbek, Frantisek Bilek, Bohumil Kafka and other outstanding sculptors worked on the design of cemetery tombstones. The variety of styles and forms they used in their works is undoubtedly fascinating and allows us to trace the stages of development of Czech art. Walking through the cemetery, you can see marble and bronze sculptures, paintings, mosaics, gilding, forged fences, metal lace and many other decorative elements that are interesting from an artistic point of view.
Tomb of Slavin
The dominant feature of the entire cemetery is the Slavin tomb, which was built in 1889-1893 at the end of the main alley. A granite staircase with balustrades leads to a small rectangular platform - a plateau. The top of the central stone pedestal is crowned with the sculpture “The Winged Genius of the Motherland” by Joseph Mauder. It depicts an angel bending over the sarcophagus of the deceased, and at its foot there are two figures on either side, symbolizing the Sorrowful Fatherland and the Victorious Fatherland. A plaque with the names of the first 15 Czechs buried in Slavin is built into the facade of the tomb, the inscription above which reads “You are dead, but you are still talking.” The pedestal is surrounded on three sides by walls with burial niches for urns and memorial plaques.
In 1929, under the leadership of the architect Josef Fant, the tomb was reconstructed: it was equipped with doors, windows, lamps and decorative bronze elements. The interior of the inner crypt was complemented by mosaics and wall cladding made of Italian marble, and an epitaph of the writer Frantisek Taborsky appeared under the ceiling.
Famous personalities
The bodies and ashes of more than 600 Czech cultural figures rest in the Visegrad Cemetery. The most famous writers buried here include: Bozena Nemcova, Karel Hynek Macha and Vitezslav Nezval. By the way, having seen the name “Kafka” on the slab, many tourists mistakenly believe that one of the largest representatives of Czech culture, the writer, is buried in Slavin. However, this is a simple coincidence of names. Franz, in accordance with his religion, is buried on, while the sculptor Bohumil Kafka, the author of the equestrian statue on, is buried in Slavin.
Czech artists and sculptors found their last refuge in the Visegrad cemetery: Julius Marzak, Karel Purkinė, Otakar Spanel, Vaclav Levy, Josef Myslbek, Stanislav Sucharda and world-famous. The list is completed by outstanding musicians Zdenek Fibich, and, in whose honor a prestigious musical is held annually.
Story
Before the appearance of the modern cemetery, burials of the capitular church were located here. Until the early 60s of the 19th century, the cemetery occupied only a small area in the immediate vicinity of.
After the fall of the absolutist regime in the country and the emergence of the revolutionary movement of 1848, the rapid development of national consciousness began. One of its manifestations was the desire to create a common burial place for those who took a direct part in the national revival, as was already common in some other European countries.
This idea arose in the writing community of Svyatobor, which was founded in 1862 by the Father of the Nation, historian Frantisek Palacki. After considering several options for the location of the cemetery, the choice fell on Vysehrad, as a symbol of centuries-old Czech history.
You can wander around the Visegrad cemetery for hours, which is hardly enough to see all the tombstones, paintings and sculptures. This special place is an eternal memory of those people who dedicated their lives and creativity to their native country.
