Vyšehrad means "castle on the heights" and is situated on a rocky outcropping above the Vltava river. It was fortified in the 10th century and was chosen as the site for the national cemetary in the 1870.

The cemetary is the final resting place of many composers, artists, sculptors, writers, and those from the world of science and politics, including Antonin Dvorak, Bedrich Smetana, Alphons Mucha and Jan Neruda.