The history of the Vysehrad Cemetery dates back to the fifteenth century, when bodies were first buried around the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, which was founded by Prince Vratislav. At first, the graves were dug around the church without any sort of order, until Dean Martin Velansky layed out a series of walls around the graves in 1660.

Thus was created a large cemetery on Vysehrad hill which lasted until the 19th century, when the northern side was expanded in 1869, and from 1875 to 1915 it was arranged into the shape we know today. Then came new pathways and neo-Renaissance arcades with crossed ceiling arches, by which the graveyard on Vysehrad became the honorary national burial ground.

For the building of the graveyard and common vaults of the most deserving men and women of the nation - Slavin - the group most responsible was the Svatobor Association, which, along with supporting the development of Czech literature, also looks after the preservation of monuments to important writers. For this reason, the members of Svatobor decided to build a vault of honor at the Vysehrad Cemetery, but they lacked the financial means to accomplish this aim. However, in 1889, the mayor of the Smichov district of Prague decided to support the construction of a vault, and he donated 30,000 in gold to this end. He didn't live to see the foundation stone laid on September 7, 1893 though, as he died a year before. In 1902, the vault of honor saw its first member admitted, as the remains of the writer and poet Julia Zeyer were laid to rest.

So far, 53 personalities of Czech literature have been buried at Slavin, although four of their names have been left off the tomb slabs. Through their work, some of those who have "earned" a place here include poet Josef Vaclav Sladek, poet and translator Jaroslav Vrchlicky, sculptor Josef Vaclav Myslbek, sculptor Jan Stursa, painter Vojtech Hynais, singer Ema Destinnova, painter Alfons Mucha, virtuoso violinist Jan Kubelik, inventor Frantisek Krizik, poet Josef Hora, architect Josef Gocar, painter Vaclav Spala, writer Marie Pujmanova, actors Zdenek Stepanek, Eduard Kohout and Jaroslav Marvan and a number of other more or less well-known personalities.

The Svatobor Assoc. took care of the maintenance of the vaults and at the same time decided who would be buried there. When after several years construction faults appeared in the tomb building, the insurance bank Slavia donated half a million crowns to Svatobor for the repair and enlargement of Slavin. Svatobor was the owner and administrator of Slavin until 1961, when it became the property of the City of Prague. Over the following decades, the vault fell into disrepair, and in 1982 its site was condemned. This prompted preparations for its reconstruction, but nothing came of it in the end and 43 of the tomb slabs were removed and the openings under them bricked in. Several of the slabs were then lost, along with 9 of the 16 ornate brass light fittings.

Since 1990, the Svatobor Association has been seeking the return of Slavin, but legislative conditions haven't allowed this to happen. To solve the problem, the Prague magistrate prepared an agreement under which Svatobor would lease Slavin for a symbolic rent of one crown a year for 99 years and the city would contribute financial to its maintenance. As of now, Slavin is still awaiting full reconstruction...

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