The story
Welcome to the quiet, wind-swept heights of Vyšehrad. As you stand here in the Karlach Gardens, not far from the towering twin spires of the Basilica of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, you are standing on the very bedrock of Czech history. But look closely at the unusual monument nearby: three massive cylinders of dark granite, leaning against each other in a strange, broken tripod.
This is the Čertův sloup, or the Devil’s Column, and it has baffled visitors for centuries. The legend takes us back to a time when a local priest, perhaps a bit too confident in his own righteousness, made a dangerous wager with a demon named Zardan. The priest bet his very soul that he could finish saying his midday Mass before the devil could fetch a massive stone column from the original Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome and bring it all the way here to Vyšehrad.
Zardan, eager for a soul, took flight instantly. He reached Rome, hoisted a heavy pillar onto his back, and raced back toward Prague. But the priest had an unexpected ally.
Saint Peter himself, the patron of this very hill, intercepted the devil three times during his flight, knocking him into the sea and delaying his progress. As the priest reached the final words of the Mass, the devil finally arrived over Vyšehrad, exhausted and panting. Seeing that he had lost the wager by a mere second, Zardan flew into a demonic rage.
He hurled the massive column with such force that it crashed through the roof of the church, splintering into the three fragments you see before you today. For centuries, these stones actually sat inside the nave of the church as a reminder of the devil’s defeat, before they were eventually moved outside to this garden. While the legend is vivid, the true history of these stones is perhaps even more mysterious.
Geologists have confirmed the granite isn’t even local to Prague; it likely comes from the Central Bohemian pluton. Some archaeologists believe these are the remains of a Romanesque column from the original 11th-century basilica that once stood here. Others suggest they functioned as part of a massive prehistoric sundial or an ancient astronomical marker used by the early tribes who settled this cliff.
As you walk around the column, notice the rough, weathered texture of the stone. Even without the devil’s touch, there is an undeniable weight to this place. Vyšehrad is a site of myths, the legendary home of the first Czech kings, and these broken pillars serve as the perfect anchor for that mystery.
Whether it was brought here by a frustrated demon or a medieval stonemason, the column remains one of Prague’s most enduring enigmas, standing silent watch over the Vltava River.