St. Ludmila

Though not part of the ordinary tourist circuit in Prague, the magnificent St. Ludmila Cathedral is a must-see for any serious visitor interested in religion. A relative newcomer, St. Ludmila was completed in 1892 in the Neo-Gothic style, and so a little unusually for Prague, it has little of the morphed features or renovations one finds in the many older churches here. St. Ludmila dominates Peace Square on which it is located with two 60.5 meter tall towers and colorful stained glass windows in the typical Neo-Gothic style. Notably, many prominent Czech nationalist artists participated in the construction of St. Ludmila because of the times, including founder of modern Czech sculptor Josef Václav Myslbek, painter František Ženíšek, and of course poet, painter, and inventor of the word “robot,” Josef Čapek. The Cathedral is named after Saint Ludmila, an early medieval female Czech saint who was the grandmother of the patron saint of Czech, Wenceslaus, and was murdered by her daughter-in-law. The interior, too, is refreshingly Neo-Gothic in flavor, with sweeping high stone arches that lack the flamboyancy of the dominant Baroque style elsewhere. Its location also makes it an excellent starting point to explore the side neighborhood of Vinohrady, a quaint area off the tourist path that offers up more contemporary sights and history.