Tomb of Ottokar I

Peter Parler, the architect and sculptor was the leader of a large workshop in Prague. He designed the choir of the cathedral as a memorial mausoleum for Charles IV’s Bohemian ancestors, with stone effigies resting atop huge sarcophagi. Charles ordered six tombs to be set up in the polygonal choir. The new style of Parler’s sculpture is apparent in the impressive figure of Ottocar I, the thirteenth-century leader who established the hereditary line of the Bohemian dynasty.

Ottokar I (c. 1155-1230), King of Bohemia from 1198 to 1230, was the younger son of King Vladislav II.