WALLENSTEIN PALACE

Description

Essentials about Wallenstein Palace in brief

Wallenstein Palace (cz. “Valdštejnský palác”), located in Prague’s Malá Strana directly below Prague Castle, is the largest palace in Prague. The monumental Baroque palace is often called the “Wallenstein Palace” after its builder and is best known for its beautiful gardens. Although today the seat of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, the grounds of the Wallenstein Palace can be visited on weekends.

The history of Wallenstein Palace

The palace was built in 1623-1630 by order of one of the most enigmatic personalities of the 17th century: Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Waldstein, better known as Wallenstein. An ingenious organizer and skilled war tactician, Wallenstein rose to become one of the most important imperial leaders in the Thirty Years’ War. Wallenstein showed just as much skill in the matter of marriage politics. Having achieved some wealth through two marriages, Wallenstein bought dozens of properties in a short time in the course of the exodus of the Protestant nobility from Prague. For the site of the present palace alone, he had 25 houses and even a city gate demolished.

After Wallenstein’s assassination in 1634, the palace was confiscated, but later reacquired by his nephew Maximilian. The palace remained in the possession of the Waldstein family until 1945, when it was again expropriated. Since 1992, the Second Chamber of the Parliament of the Czech Republic has had its seat here.

The architecture of Wallenstein Palace

The building was built on the basis of Andrea Spezza’s designs by the architect Giovanni Pieroni, a student of Galileo Galilei. The palace complex occupies a huge area, especially due to its extensive side wings and the gardens they enclose. Despite the imposing layout, Wallenstein Palace blends harmoniously with the architecture of the Prague Castle above it.

The loggia of the palace was designed according to the models of Ligurian architecture and has similarities with the loggia of the Cathedral of Livorno of. The interior of the loggia is decorated with rich stucco decorations by Bartolomeo Baccio di Bianco. The murals depict, among other things, motifs from the Aeneid and Olympian gods. They glorify Wallenstein as a general – similarly to the banquet hall of the palace – by commemorating his martial successes.

The gardens of Wallenstein Palace

The palace also includes extensive gardens, which is accessible free of charge. Inside, one can find a strictly geometrical garden laid out in the Italian Baroque style with a grotto, a pond, aviaries, the Wallenstein Riding Hall, which is used by the National Gallery Prague for exhibitions, and the Sala terrena, where various cultural events are held in the summer.

The garden directly in front of the Sala terrena, the so-called “Giardinetto”, was equipped with a Neptune fountain with bronze figures from the workshop of the Dutch sculptor Adriaen de Vries. The fountain figurines by Adriaen de Vries was later exchanged for a Venus figurine and placed in the palace garden instead. Both the Venus and the figures by de Vries were taken to Stockholm as spoils of war at the end of the Thirty Years’ War when Swedish troops sacked Prague. The Venus was later recovered, but the remaining statues are still in the garden of the royal Drottnigholm Palace. The figures standing in the palace garden today are copies.