Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral, a 700-year-old landmark and the largest church in the Czech Republic, has inaugurated a new organ. The instrument is intended to properly accompany religious services and concerts within the historic building.

The inauguration ceremony on Monday included a blessing of the organ by Prague Archbishop Stanislav Přibyl as part of a mass. The event featured music performed by the Czech Philharmonic, including "The Lužany Mass" by Antonín Dvořák, alongside works by Georg Friedrich Händel, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Joseph Haydn.

"St. Vitus Cathedral has gained a new voice," Archbishop Přibyl stated. "A voice that will not speak with words but will still speak to the heart."

Following the inauguration, a series of eight concerts will be held to showcase the new instrument. The organ was constructed in the workshop of Gerhard Grenzing in El Papiol, near Barcelona, Spain. Grenzing, a renowned organ builder, has constructed nearly 140 organs and restored over 90 historical instruments internationally.

After its completion in Spain, the organ was disassembled and transported to Prague. It was reassembled at the cathedral a year ago, followed by several months of voicing and tuning the approximately 6,000 pipes. These pipes range in length from 7 millimeters to over 7 meters (23 feet).

Efforts to secure a new organ for the cathedral began approximately 14 years ago. The previous organ, completed in the early 1930s, was reportedly too small for the cathedral's vast space and frequently malfunctioned. There was reportedly no interest in repairing it during World War II or the subsequent 40 years of communist rule.

A crowdfunding campaign initiated in 2017 successfully raised over 135 million Czech koruna (approximately $6.5 million) from thousands of donors toward the project.

St. Vitus Cathedral holds significant historical importance in the Czech Republic, serving as the coronation and burial site for Czech kings, and housing the Czech crown jewels. It was also the site of the funeral Mass for Václav Havel, the Czech Republic's first president, in December 2011.