St. George’s Basilica

Lying quite literally in the shadow of the far vaster St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George’s Basilica’s relatively demur size and stature belies its incredible history. Part of the eclectic Prague Castle complex, St. George’s was first constructed in 920, making it well over a thousand years old and almost as old as Prague Castle itself, founded in 870. Naturally, it’s the oldest surviving church in Prague Castle, and the second oldest in Prague ever, but strangely enough, it doesn’t look actually look all that old. That’s mainly because a church this old, in a region with as turbulent a history as Bohemia, doesn’t survive for over a millennium without suffering damage on a few occasions. In 1142 it was destroyed in a fire, and rebuilt in the medieval Romanesque style, with massive walls and arches, and in the 17th century it got a new Baroque exterior, which makes it look six hundred years younger than it is. St. George’s was ruined again by an Austrian military occupation in 1782 and restored to its present state. When you go inside the basilica its medieval heritage becomes immediately apparently, with little of the flamboyant flourishes and gold plating of its younger siblings; instead, plain stone walls and a relatively sparse interior greet you, giving the basilica excellent acoustics for its periodic concerts.