Construction of the present St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague began in 1344.
The date marks the foundation of the Gothic cathedral after Prague became an archbishopric. King John of Bohemia and his son Charles, the future Emperor Charles IV, supported the project, which was intended to become the principal church of the kingdom and a royal burial place.
The first architect was Matthias of Arras, followed by Peter Parler, whose workshop shaped much of the cathedral’s distinctive late-Gothic structure. Building continued for centuries, with interruptions caused by political upheaval, war, and changing finances. The cathedral was finally completed and ceremonially consecrated in 1929.
Earlier churches stood on the same site, including a Romanesque basilica and a rotunda. Thus 1344 refers to the start of the present Gothic cathedral, not to the first Christian building on Prague Castle hill.