The Devil's Pillar, Stone formation in Vyšehrad, Czech Republic.
The Devil's Pillar is a formation of three stone columns of granodiorite in Vyšehrad, Prague. It was first recorded in the book Bellum hussiticum as fragments of a single column standing in the cemetery of the Church of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Geologists trace the stone to quarries in central Bohemia near Sázava.
The columns are first documented in a text called Bellum hussiticum, which mentions fragments of one pillar at the cemetery of the Church of Saint John the Baptist. Over time, these stone remnants became integrated into the Vyšehrad fortress landscape where they remain today.
A local story tells of a priest who made a wager with the devil to hold a Mass service before the devil could bring a column from Rome. This tale remains deeply rooted in how people understand and speak about this place today.
The site is located within the Vyšehrad fortress complex and can be reached through the main entrance area of the grounds. Visitors should explore the fortress on foot, and pathways may vary in condition depending on weather and recent maintenance work.
The three columns were long described as fragments of a single pillar, and the first record of them, in Bellum hussiticum, places them in the cemetery of the church of St John the Baptist within Vyšehrad. Geologists identify the stone as granodiorite from quarries in central Bohemia around Sázava, not from Rome.
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