Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic - The Wallenstein Palace (Prague)
N 50° 05.401 E 014° 24.322
33U E 457464 N 5548808
Wallenstein palace (In Czech: Valdštejnský palác), the seat of Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, is the first large secular palace of the Prague's Baroque era, surrounded by the Wallenstein Garden with the Wallenstein Riding school...
Waymark Code: WM6K37
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 06/12/2009
Views: 194
Imperial Generalissimo Albrecht of Wallenstein, one of the most important personalities in Bohemia in the 17th century, had built an ostentatious residence in Prague Lesser Town. It is the first monumental Baroque building in the city and it was supposed to overshadow all Prague palaces, even to compete with the Prague Castle. Wallenstein palace became a seat of the Senate of the Czech Parliament in 1993. The Senate sits in the former stabling, which came through large reconstruction.
When Wallenstein had his palace built in Prague, he bought 26 houses, 6 gardens and 2 brickworks for it and almost everything had to be demolished. People who didn´t move out quickly enough, had his houses demolished right above their heads. Wallenstein allegedly didn´t even pay for some plots he bought, because nobody dared to remind him of the debt.
The Wallenstein Palace was built by Italian Andrea Spezza and later finished by Niccolo Sebregondi. It is a large complex of several buildings, five courtyards, a beautiful Wallenstein garden and a riding hall.
The interior of the palace is richly decorated in Italian style. The most important room is the Knights´ Hall. Its ceiling is adorned with a fresco painting by Baccio Bianco, depicting Albrecht of Wallenstein as an Antique god riding a chariot. The Audience Hall has a fresco of God Helios and an allegoric painting of four seasons. There is the St. Wenceslas Chapel in the Wallenstein Palace, decorated with scenes from the St. Wenceslas legend.
The extraordinary Astrological Corridor is embellished with astrological motifs by Giovanni Pieroni, the mathematician and astrologist, a pupil of Galileo Galilei. This corridor is the place, where Galilei´s discoveries were made public and painted for the first time. Albrecht of Wallenstein was very interested in astrology and he deeply trusted the horoscope, made for him by Johannes Kepler.
The palace was a possession of Wallenstein family till 1945, then it was expropriated by the state.