Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius

Why go

The church links an eighteenth-century Baroque building with one of Prague's starkest Second World War stories. The crypt sheltered the men involved in the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich; the memorial and exhibition explain their final stand. Even an exterior stop gives the event a real location in New Town.

What to look for

• The Baroque church stands at Resslova and Na Zderaze.
• The crypt below the cathedral sheltered Czechoslovak parachutists in 1942.
• A national memorial and exhibition occupy the lower part of the site.

The full story

The building began as an eighteenth-century Roman Catholic church before becoming the Czech Orthodox cathedral. In 1942 its crypt sheltered Czechoslovak parachutists after the attack on Reinhard Heydrich, a senior Nazi official and architect of persecution. German forces surrounded the church, and the men made their final stand there. The memorial beneath the cathedral tells that story where it happened. The contrast matters: the Baroque exterior belongs to an older Prague, while the crypt recalls resistance under occupation. The place asks for a measured visit, with attention to the people involved and the cost of the events rather than the drama of the battle alone. The memorial tells the events in the space where the men hid, so the building itself carries a meaning that an account elsewhere cannot reproduce.

Useful to know

• Check the memorial's own visiting information if you plan to enter the crypt.
• Treat cathedral worship access and the crypt exhibition as separate visits with separate arrangements.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.