Prague Castle Sunset

I'm always keen to capture the gorgeous colours of a sunset, and I'd been watching the light all day on May 31st, 2023. Clouds gradually bubbled up throughout the afternoon, and I was left hoping they would linger just long enough to catch that end-of-day light over Prague Castle—and they did. I found a quiet spot along the Vltava near the Mánesův Bridge, and as the sun dropped behind the city, everything shifted into that golden-orange glow.

Prague Castle on Hradčany Hill was catching the last of the light, its silhouette standing tall against the soft orange and pink sky. The dominant feature is St. Vitus Cathedral—that Gothic masterpiece with its distinctive twin spires reaching 344 feet into the sky. Construction began in 1344 under Charles IV, but the cathedral wasn't completed until 1929, making it a 585-year project spanning Gothic, Renaissance, and Neo-Gothic periods. The river had a gentle flow to it, and I used a long 60-second exposure to blur the water, giving the reflections that painterly texture while the castle and cathedral remained sharp.

I shot this with my Canon R5 and the 24-105mm lens at 50mm, using that minute-long exposure at f/6.3 and ISO 100. The long exposure smoothed the Vltava into silk, capturing the warm reflected light from the sunset spreading across the water like liquid gold. The neutral density filter allowed me to use such a long shutter speed even in the fading daylight. It felt like the whole city paused for a breath—no rush, no noise, just that golden light wrapping everything up for the night.

What I love most about this scene is its simplicity. No dramatic weather, no busy foreground—just Prague doing what it does best: being quietly beautiful. The castle complex sprawling across the hillside, St. Vitus Cathedral's Gothic spires piercing the sunset sky, and the Vltava River flowing through the heart of the Czech capital like it has for millennia.

This sunset view of Prague Castle captures the city in one of its most peaceful moments. The warm, fading light, the gentle reflections on the Vltava smoothed by long exposure, and the soft cloud cover give the scene a calm, timeless feel. It's the largest ancient castle in the world, a 9th-century fortress, and a Gothic cathedral 585 years in the making, all bathed in that golden hour glow that photographers dream about.

When you look at this photograph, I want you to feel that golden calm—standing beside the Vltava River watching sunset light paint Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral in amber and pink, where 1,150 years of Czech history glows on Hradčany Hill above the river that defines this beautiful capital city.