St. Vitus Cathedral lies in the third courtyard ot the Prague castle (Hradcany). It is the religious heart of the whole country. Work on the cathedral began in 1344 when the Bohemian Bishopric was promoted to Archbishopric, but was finally finished in 1929. The first architect was the Frenchman Matthew of Arras. After his death, Swabian Peter Parler took over. His masons' lodge continued to work on the building until the Hussite Wars. Finally completed by architects and artists of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. The main attraction of the cathedral is the Chapel of the main Czech patron saint "good king" Wenceslas.
The magnificient chapel of St. Wenceslas also contains the Czech crown jewels.

First works on the present day cathedral started in 1344 and were conducted by French master Matthew of Arras. Emperor Charles IV. wanted that monumental construction to be a focus of national spirit and the worthy resting place for the patron saints of the country: St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas, and St. Adalbert. In 14^th century architect Peter Parler continued with the work and the cathedral became the most important masterpiece of its days, strongly influencing the development of Gothic architecture in Central Europe. Relics of many spiritual leaders are laid to rest here ­ for example St. Johan of Nepomuk. The Cathedral was completed in its entirety in our century.

St. Vitus's Cathedral is the largest and the most important church in Prague. Apart from divine services the coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place in it. The remains of provincial patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen and archbishops are interred here.
The cathedral is the third church consecrated to the same saint on the identical site. About the year 925 Prince Vaclav I. founded a Romanesque rotunda here which after 1060 was converted into a triple-naved basilica with two steeples. The importance of the cathedral grew especially after the establishment of the Prague bishopric in 973 and the founding of the body of canons - the St. Vitus chapter, which later became an important cultural and administrative institution.
In 1344 Charles IV. began the construction of a Gothic cathedral. Its first builders, Matthias of Arras and later Peter Parler, built the choir with a ring of chapels, St. Wenceslas's Chapel, the Golden Portal and the lower part of the main steeple. In spite of the endeavours of some sovereigns to secure the continuation of the construction work the cathedral remained uncompleted for whole centuries. The main steeple was crowned with a Renaissance helmet and the music choir was built. The facade of the cathedral was provisionally closed.
It was not until the latter half of the 19^th century that the Union for the Completion of the Building of St. Vitus's Cathedral began the repair of the original part and the completion of the building of the cathedral in Neo-Gothic style. The cathedral was solemnly consecrated in 1929. Its interior was subjected to adaptations even in later years.
Visitors enter the cathedral through the portal in the western facade, opposite the passage-way between the Second and Third Courtyards of Prague Castle. Its bronze door is decorated with reliefs with scenes from the history of the cathedral and from the legends about St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert.
The Neo-Gothic part of the cathedral consists of the main nave and the narrow side aisles, lined with chapels, and the northern wing of the transverse nave. The chapels have stained glass windows.
The construction of the large southern steeple was started by Peter Parler, but he did not complete it. It gained its originally planned height after being provided with a Renaissance helmet in the 16^th century. St. Wenceslas's Chapel partly reaches on to the area of the transverse nave. The different conception of its architecture and its magnificent decoration emphasize its importance as the central point of the cathedral as a whole. The solemn entrance to the cathedral, the Golden Portal, affords access to the chapel from the Third Courtyard.
Situated in the choir of the cathedral, in front of the high alter, is the royal mausoleum below which, in the crypt, there is the royal tomb. The choir is surrounded by a ring of Gothic chapels. Czech sovereigns and patron saints are interred in some of them.