The station used to be named after Klement Gottwald, the first Communist President of Czechoslovakia. The popular choice for a new name would have been Civic Forum, but the authorities settled on Vy§ehrad. Towering over the station is one of Prague’s newest hotels, the Forum. The modernistic building on the far side of the flyover is the Palace of Culture, built in 1981, a multi-purpose complex used primarily for concerts and conferences.
There was a castle in Vy§ehrad as early as the llth century which, for a short while, was the royal seat of the Pfemyslid dynasty. By the late Middle Ages, however, the area had become something of a backwater and it never revived in importance. The main points of interest are down by the river, near the neo-Gothic, twin-spired Church of SS Peter and Paul. Dating from the 19th century, it conceals a number of earlier buildings on the same site, the remains of which are now being uncovered by archaeologists. There is a 14th-century painting of the Virgin in the church. Among the notables buried in the cemetery next door are the composers Antonin Dvofak and Bedfich Smetana, the artist Alfons Mucha and the writer Karel Capek.
Just a stone’s throw away is the Romanesque St Martin’s Rotunda, founded in the 11th century and one of the earliest Christian monuments in Czechoslovakia.
Uhelny Trh
An area of charming old houses and winding streets, connected by gated courtyards. There was a medieval coal market in Uhelny trh which gives it its name. The site of the colliers’ workshop is now occupied by an 18th-century fountain. Its bacchanalian decoration makes happy but unwitting reference to the wine bars which give the area its present character. Beer enthusiasts take heart – one of the best bars in Prague, U Dvou Koaek, is at no. 10. There is a great deal of essential restoration work currently going on in Michalski.
The house At the Iron Door is Early Gothic (13th century) with Renaissance additions – note the portal and gables facing Jilska. Drink has been sold on the premises since the 16th century; formerly an ale house, it is now a wine bar. U Vejvodu on jilska (no. 4) is another well-known tavern, unbeatable for its beery, bustling atmosphere. It takes its full name from its 18th-century owner, Jan Vejvoda of Stromberg, whose coat-of-arms you are able to see over the portal.
Many of the period houses in Melantichova are now shops: souvenirs are sold at no. 9 and dolls and toys at Igra, near no. 17. The Barberina wine bar is at no. 7. The monastery and church of St Michael (no. 17) is undergoing restoration. If you are lucky, you may be able to see traces of the original Gothic fabric emerging from beneath the 18th-century plaster work.