Calvary chapel at Petřín

The Calvary Chapel at Petřín (Czech: Kaple Kalvárie), also known as the Chapel of the Resurrection, is a small baroque building standing in the park on Prague's Petřín hill, right next to the Cathedral of St Lawrence.

When was the chapel built?

Construction ran from 1732 to 1737, producing a modest, single-space baroque structure — one of many such chapels raised in 18th-century Prague alongside churches, as part of pilgrimage routes and outdoor Stations of the Cross.

How does it relate to the rest of Petřín hill?

The chapel belongs to a protected historic ensemble that also includes the Cathedral of St Lawrence, the nearby Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, and fourteen Stations of the Cross scattered across the hillside. Together, the church, the calvary chapel and the stations were built to allow open-air Passion services, with worshippers moving between the stations on the slope.

What can you see on the facade and inside?

The facade carries a sgraffito of the Resurrection of Christ, executed in 1934 by J. Riedl after a design Mikoláš Aleš had drawn up back in 1898 — so the composition existed as a sketch at the end of the 19th century and was only turned into sgraffito on the chapel wall decades later. A baroque sandstone pulpit stands outside, to the left of the entrance. Inside, the chapel is divided into two vaulted levels, both now empty and without any liturgical furnishings.

Has the chapel always looked this well kept?

For a long time it was the last unrestored building in the park near Petřín's lookout tower. A full restoration, costing 2.8 million Czech crowns, brought the structure back into good condition, including cleaning and conserving the facade sgraffito.

Where exactly is it on the hill?

The chapel stands in the Petřín gardens, immediately next to the Cathedral of St Lawrence, close to the lookout tower and the Mirror Maze — right in the busiest, most visited part of the hill, easiest to reach by the funicular from Újezd or on foot from Malá Strana.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Calvary Chapel at Petřín built? Between 1732 and 1737, in the baroque style.

Does the chapel have another name? Yes, it is also known as the Chapel of the Resurrection (Kaple Vzkříšení).

What does the decoration on the facade show? A sgraffito of the Resurrection of Christ, made in 1934 by J. Riedl from a 1898 design by Mikoláš Aleš.

Can you go inside the chapel? The interior consists of two vaulted floors, currently empty and unfurnished — today the chapel mainly serves as a historic part of Petřín's Way of the Cross ensemble.

What should you combine a visit with? The nearby Cathedral of St Lawrence, the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Stations of the Cross along the slope, plus the lookout tower and Mirror Maze in the same part of the park.