St. George's Basilica
Prague Castle's oldest surviving church — founded before Bohemia even had a bishop.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Prague offline.
Vratislaus I broke ground in 920; his son Wenceslaus I finished it and buried his grandmother Ludmila here. For over 50 years it was the spiritual center of all Bohemia until the Archdiocese of Prague was established in 973. The attached Benedictine convent's abbess held the right to crown the Bohemian queen consort.
What to look for
- The two mismatched towers flanking the entrance: the taller southern tower called 'Adam' and the shorter northern one called 'Eve', both added after a fire during the 1142 siege
- The Baroque facade from the late 17th century layered over the Romanesque core beneath
- The crypt, part of the original three-nave structure built in the early 10th century
Located inside Prague Castle — the political and spiritual center of the Czech state — so pair it with other buildings in the same compound.
St. George's Basilica is one of 36 sights worth the detour in Prague, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Prague pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Prague
- Prague CastleThe Guinness-record largest ancient castle on Earth — and the Czech president still works inside it.
- Charles BridgeCzech legend holds that Charles IV chose his construction start time — 5:31am on 9 July 1357 — because the digits form a palindrome he believed would imbue the bridge with additional strength.
- St. Vitus CathedralOne theory holds that the founding duke may have chosen St. Vitus partly because his name echoes a Slavic sun god — making conversion easier for a populace already devoted to the solar deity Svantevit. Christian and pagan communities shared this hilltop until at least the 11th century.
- Dancing HouseTwo interlocked towers shaped like mid-dance partners, built on a Vltava riverfront plot that sat bombed-out and derelict for decades.
- Prague Astronomical ClockEvery hour, a skeleton marks the time — on a clock mechanism that has been running since 1410.
- National Museum in PragueThe building that closes off Wenceslas Square has anchored Czech protests, rallies, and public life since 1891.