St. Wenceslas Vineyard on the slopes of Prague Castle: a place to relax and sample good wine
Czechia is not generally associated with winemaking and most of the country’s vineyards are located in the eastern part of the country– in Moravia-Silesia. However, Bohemia, and more surprisingly Prague, has a few fine vineyards as well. The oldest and most famous lies on the slopes of Prague Castle itself.
On the southern slopes of Prague Castle, sandwiched between the buttress wall of the Old Castle Stairs and the upper scenic ridgeway is the St. Wenceslas Vineyard. It is said to be more than a thousand years old and according to the Old Dalimil Chronicle it was established and cultivated by none other than Prince Wenceslas –who later became the patron saint of the Czech nation, sometime in the 10th century. According to the chronicler, Wenceslas himself helped to plant the vines and press the grapes make wine for churches, hence the name. But historians today say that in reality this vineyard was founded much later around 1375 by the King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV.
However, throughout the centuries the vineyard was not accessible to the broad public it was only in 2008 that it opened to the public for the first time in history. Also accessible now is another landmark on the site, a classicist summerhouse – the Villa Richter - with its northern and southern terrace and adjacent pergola, dividing the Saint Wenceslas Vineyard lengthwise into northern and southern parts. After the Kinsky Summerhouse, the Villa Richter is the second-most famous classicist building in Prague. Jaroslav Hykl was in charge of the reconstruction of the vineyard and villa before it opened to the public.
“This vineyard is really more than 1,000 years old and it was never accessible to the public – at least not until 2008. It was always in private hands, mostly various church orders. Sometime in the 19th century it was bought by the Richter family. The first Richter was a well-off postmaster who only tended to the vineyard but his son was a provincial councilor, a man of considerable wealth, who built the Richter Villa on the premises and it bears his name to this day - Villa Richter.”
The building remained in the ownership of the Richter family until the 20th century. In 1956, the property passed into the ownership of the Czechoslovak state. The vineyards and the buildings were used by the diplomatic service and later by the Ministry of Interior. The Office of the President only started restoring the vineyard and property as late as 1990. Jaroslav Hykl says the selected varieties were carefully chosen to reflect history and the Central European climate.
“Two main grape varieties are planted here: Riesling Rynsky – a royal variety of white grapes suited to the local climate and Pinot Noir vines –the same as were grown here during the reign of Charles IV who brought them to Prague from Burgundy. We only have 2,000 vines –which is not a lot, so you can only taste the wine from them here.“
Several hundred types of rare wines are stored in a unique cellar carved into the rock on which Prague Castle stands. The vineyard hosts a number of wine events and festivals throughout the year, supported by the Wine Fund of the Czech Republic. People love to visit both for the panoramic views of Prague and the wine tasting.
“I think we can say that we have the most photographed vineyard in the world. Because all the tourists who come and take pictures of Prague Castle take pictures of this vineyard. Moreover, the pictures of Prague taken from this place are unique – the panorama of Prague stands out with its red rooftops, amazing architecture and a thousand spires. Prague has been dubbed “the city of a thousand spires” and I think from here you could count every one of them and more!”
The Saint Wenceslas Vineyard and Villa Richter are open to the public all year round.
