Wallenstein Palace travel guide

Laid out on a large scale, the most magnificent of Prague’s aristocratic residences was built in the years 1624–1630 for Albrecht of Wallenstein

Albrecht of Wallenstein, one of the wealthiest noblemen of the time, imperial generalissimo and later Duke of Friedland (murdered in 1634). Wallenstein had 25 houses, three gardens and a city gate demolished in order to build the city’s first Baroque palace opposite Prague Castle . The designs were by Andrea Spezza and Giovanni Pieroni, whilesupervision of the building project was entrusted to Giovanni Battista Marini. A ceiling fresco in the central Knights’ Hall shows Albrecht of Wallenstein as the god Mars on his triumphal chariot (B. Bianco, 1630). In the other rooms are an equestrian portrait of Wallenstein (F. Leux, 1631) and 19th-century paintings with motifs from antiquity by Peter Maixner. The palace chapel contains Prague’s earliest Baroque altar, created by E. Heidelberger. Today, Wallenstein Palace is the seat of the Czech senate; it is open to visitors only at weekends (Sat, Sun 10am–4pm). In his Wallenstein, Golo Mann describes the scale and splendour of the Wallenstein residence:»The front is Bohemian Italian, modelled on Palazzo Farnese ... In order to grasp the true dimensions of Wallenstein Palace it is necessary to inspect the inner courtyards and park. From the square, only the façade is visible ... The rest, the entirety, was no ordinary lordly seat. It was an autarky, a mini-empire amidst the bustle of the city, enclosed by outbuildings and a fortress-like park wall. Once Wallenstein’s coach had entered the yard to the left of the front, he had everything he required; a chapel for his prayers; a riding-course at the lower end of the park; a bathing grotto with crystals, shells and stalactites, of paramount importance; and paths between statues and fountains.«

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