Rotunda sv. Martina

The Rotunda sv. Martina stands as a quiet yet powerful piece of Prague history within the walls of the Vyšehrad fortress. Built in the 11th century, it is the largest preserved rotunda in the city and serves as a tangible record of survival, having endured through the Thirty Years War when it functioned as a gunpowder store and narrowly escaping demolition in 1841. Today, guests can observe the physical remnants of its turbulent past, such as the cannonball still embedded in the facade from the 1757 Prussian siege. The interior houses 19th-century paintings by artists including Antonín König and František Sequens, offering a layered experience of both Romanesque foundations and later artistic refinements. It remains an active site for the Vyšehrad ecclesiastical chapter, maintaining a small but regular schedule of Roman Catholic masses, while offering private guided tours for those who arrange them in advance.