New pipe organ at St. Vitus Cathedral blessed in special ceremony

A new pipe organ installed in St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle was blessed during a liturgy led by Prague Archbishop Stanislav Přibyl on Monday evening. The rite of blessing the instrument, which was financed from public donations, was performed by his predecessor, Jan Graubner.

The ceremony included the symbolic “awakening” of the organ. Works by Dvořák, Handel, Haydn and Saint-Saëns were performed with the accompaniment of the Czech Philharmonic and several choirs. German organ builder Gerhard Grenzing who created the exceptional instrument also took part in the celebrations.

More than 135 million crowns were raised for the new organ through a nationwide public fundraising campaign involving thousands of donors.