Let's travel together #326 - Vyšehrad Cemetery (Famous Czechs of the Past)

It's been a while since I last wrote about a cemetery, isn't it?

Well, that sounds a bit more awkward that I thought, but to be honest I was always fascinated by this kind of places and avoid the unseen barriers that are usually linked to these locations thinking that it only represents a place where people are meant to rest once they make it to the afterlife.

In fact, there are indeed such locations where you can't really see more than some graves and possibly light a candle or bring some flowers. But there is also the situation where cemeteries turn into real points of interests either because of the people who are resting there, the architecture of the graves, or even from other aspects.

A good example to that, is Cimitirul Vesel (The Merry Cemetery) from my country, Romania, that gained attention quickly for its brightly coloured tombstones with naïve paintings describing, in an original and poetic manner, the people who are buried there in addition to scenes from their lives.

When it comes to Vyšehrad Cemetery though, things are completely different.

Vyšehrad Cemetery was established in 1869 on the grounds of the Pagrue's Castle known under the same name, Vyšehrad and it represents one of the latest resting places for poets, writers, sculptors, painters, actors, architects, sportsmen, scientists, music composers or even the the Nobel Prize laureate Jaroslav Heyrovský.

You can read a small part of those who are resting within, on this link.

Although there are a bit over 600 famous people in total that are part of this cemetery for a while now, along with the names that are more or less familiar for the tourists coming from abroad, a thing that really fascinated me was the diversity within graves.

A good example on that is the image from above that shows at least 10 different styles, but the cemetery surely becomes quickly a fascinating place to walk along to. And I'll leave attached some more pictures to understand better what I mean.

Click on the images to see them in full resolution

From minimalism to luxury, from modern to old school and a bit of a kitsch, the styles are literally endless.

Perhaps it's some sort of a way to gain attention to those passing by to approach and see who's resting there based on how big the sculptures and decorations are. But while this is just a personal opinion, I have to agree that it did its job at least for me as I quickly found myself walking from one grave to another just for the sake of admiring the decorations that looked really nice.

There are many tourist attractions or places that I have visited both in my country and abroad that did not come with such impressive sculptures and details.

Some of the most impressive and spectacular graves are places on two sides of the cemeteries which are also the single ones covered. These follow both classical and Art Nouveau decorations so if arts and culture are some of your passions, then there are surely some graves that will remain forever in your head.

And if you are looking for one extra reason to convince yourself that a cemetery like Vyšehrad will save a special spot in your heart, then keep in mind that cemeteries are a really important thing in the Czech culture as a way to honour and remember the dead ones.

Hence why, there are lots of sources stating there are a large number of cemeteries along Czechia, reading even about more than 30 in the whole city!

Obviously, I did not check them or tried to reach others than Vyšehrad Cemetery so I don't know how real the information is, but based on the whole activity I've seen in Vyšehrad with lots of candles lighting and fresh flowers on most of the graves, I quickly understood how important cemeteries are in this city.

Click on the images to see them in full resolution

Another interesting fact comes from the simple information that there are cemeteries dating even from the 13th century but which, somehow, never earned the popularity Vyšehrad Cemetery is facing in the 21st century, even if it was created a few centuries after the oldest ones.

Wondering why? Things are quite simple as it seems Vyšehrad Cemetery is the single one that was preserved until today and it also became part of the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul that you can see in the background and for which I'll write a separate post.

Vyšehrad Cemetery is, actually, one of the four graveyards that are said to be existing during the Middle Ages, but which turned out as the single winner at the end of the day when the other three were left in ruins.

Click on the images to see them in full resolution

The best part is that Vyšehrad Cemetery is free of charge and it can be visited daily no matter the season. However, I'll leave down below the schedule depending on the month you are travelling to Prague as the opening hours are different:

• November - February: Daily between 8 AM to 5 PM;
• March - April: Daily between 8 AM to 6 PM;
• May - September: Daily between 8 AM to 7 PM;
• October: Daily between 8 AM to 6 PM;

---

The official address of Vyšehrad Cemetery is K Rotundě, Vyšehrad, 128 00 Praha 2, Czechia and there are more ways to reach it depending on how much you enjoy walking or not.

Obviously, the quickest and easiest method for the more comfortable people, is to get a taxi. The 2nd way which mixes both cosiness and a bit of fitness, is by taking a metro where you get off at Vyšehrad station and then make your way first through the old gates and arrive at the rear entry of the cemetery, this taking maximum 20 minutes of walking. The 3rd option comes with either a tram or simply walking, because the tram stations won't leave you as close as the metro or taxi does and it will require more walking from you. Some of the options for the tram are 2, 3, 5, 7, 13, 16, and 17 where you will get off at the stop called Výton.

Other places I've seen during my stay in Prague:

• The "John Lennon" Wall
• The Nustle Bridge also known as "The Suicide Bridge" of Prague
• Street Art in Prague
• The Dancing House
• Idiom Installation - the book tower of the Prague library
• Vyton Naplavka and Palackého Most
• Grotta, Havlíček Gardens
• Vyšehradské Sady (Vyšehrad Gardens)
• National Library of Technology
• Prague's Astronomical Clock (Pražský Orloj)
• The Narrowest Street of Prague
• The Brick Gate (Cihelná Brána)
• Letná Park (Letenské sady)
• Vyšehrad Cemetery (Famous Czechs of the Past)

more coming soon...

^{Gabriela Travels is the FOUNDER of "Festival Mania" who started this community from the passion of attending various festivals and with the purpose of encouraging more people to explore festivals all around the world and share their experiences. At the same time, Gabriela is an independent Graphic Design Freelancer since 2019 completing over 600+ orders in this time and collaborating with various businesses and people from all over the globe. Additionally, Gabriela has her own corner on the internet since 2017 where she writes various articles for her blog, the most popular being the travel ones (300+ articles written on this field), but also approaching other topics as well, like game reviews, movie and series reviews, photography posts, cooking recipes and more, boosting the total number of articles written to 750+ blog posts. Gabriela is also a gamer since she was 11 years old and gaming remains one of her biggest passions along with traveling, editing, cooking, and doing various sports activities.}

~ @GabrielaTravels ~

Let's keep in touch:
↪ Blog: http://gabrielastravels.wordpress.com/
↪ YouTube Travel: https://www.youtube.com/@GabrielaTravels
↪ YouTube Gaming: https://www.youtube.com/@DoiLupi
↪ Instagram Travel: https://www.instagram.com/GabrielaTravels/
↪ Instagram Gaming: https://www.instagram.com/doilupigaming/
↪ Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/gabrielatv/
↪ TikTok Travel: https://tiktok.com/@gabrielastravels/
↪ TikTok Gaming: https://tiktok.com/@doilupigaming/
↪ Discord: GabrielaTravels
↪ Facebook Travel: https://www.facebook.com/gabrielaistraveling/
↪ Facebook Gaming: https://www.facebook.com/doilupigaming/
↪ Twitter: https://twitter.com/GabrielaTravels

^{Click on the banner above for more details}

//:# (//:# (!worldmappin 50.06472 lat 14.41810 long The cemetery where are resting some of the most famous Czechs of the past d3scr))