Hundreds visit Prague's famous Slavín tomb

Prague, Nov 26 (CTK) - Almost 500 people came to Prague's Vysehrad cemetery to see the interior of the Slavin crypt, in which great personalities of the Czech culture and science were buried in the 19th and 20th centuries and which was reopened to the public after 65 years Saturday.

From outside, the large monument dominates the cemetery with its numerous graves of outstanding personalities. However, the crypt beneath the granite stairs is quite unknown to the public.

"From the beginning, only relatives of those who are buried there could enter the crypt, and the public access was permitted only exceptionally. After some years the crypt dilapidated. It was reconstructed in 1998-2002, but even afterwards, only excursions of pupils or experts were let in," Vaclav Potocek, from the Svatobor association that manages the cemetery, told CTK.

The association has decided to open the crypt to people ahead of Christmas. The access is free but the number of people must be regulated.

The personalities buried in the crypt include painters Vojtech Hynais and Alfons Mucha, signer Ema Destinnova, architect Josef Gocar, inventor Frantisek Krizik, conductor Rafael Kubelik, composer Oskar Nedbal and some significant Czech poets, writers and actors.

The Svatobor association was established by historian Frantisek Palacky 150 years ago. The Slavin monument and crypt was designed by architect Antonin Wiehl. It was completed in 1893.

When Svatobor members entered the crypt after the fall of the communist regime in late 1989, they saw that 27 of the 44 granite slabs had disappeared.

The crypt will also be opened in the next weekends till December 18 from 12:00 to 16:00, and also on Fridays from 13:00 to 14:00, Potocek said.