Rosenberg Palace at Prague Castle: History, attractions
When a great fire in 1541 burned down the medieval houses on today’s Jiřské náměstí at Prague Castle, the Rožmberk family bought the free land to build a magnificent palace there. As the builder, they chose the Italian Renaissance architect Hans Vlacha, nicknamed Škarpalín, who here designed a four-winged palace with arcades in two shorter wings and a gate to Jiřská street. Later, when the Rožmberks acquired the neighboring houses of the lords from Švamberk and Rožmitál, they added a large garden on the west side of the palace, lined with an arcaded walkway.
From September 16, 1753, at the request of the Empress Maria Theresa, the baroque reconstruction of the Institute of Nobles took place according to Nikola Pacassi’s project. Although the construction lasted until December 1756, the Institute was noble, it was officially opened at the end of 1755. The Institute served as an educational institution for girls from noble families. “The first matron of the institute was the daughter of the founder, Marie Anna and they continued to take turns in office, unlike members of noble families,” explains historian Zdeněk Lukeš.
Communist decline
Young noblewomen studied here until 1919, when the institute was abolished, and the space began to be used by the Office of the President of the Republic. However, the greatest hell for the entire palace occurred with the advent of communism. After all, as for most Czechoslovak monuments. The Communists established the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior here. “For example, they built ground-floor garages on the third, or if you prefer, the lower courtyard, so that there is somewhere to park,” reminds Lukeš. “Even the wonderful Rožmberský hall, which served as offices, survived with a few partitions,” he adds.
However, the communist potentates committed the greatest construction atrocity in the chapel of the Holy Cross. The communists deliberately liquidated everything church-related, made granaries and raised pigs in churches and monasteries, and the local chapel also suffered the same fate. “The baroque building with ceiling frescoes, which today serves as an exhibition hall for the exposition of the St. Vitus treasure, was re-floored. Downstairs there was a transformer station and upstairs was a gymnasium for the castle guard“, says Lukeš.
Extensive repair
The Institute of Nobles was not fully restored until the 1990s. “One of the most extensive and longest reconstructions in the history of Prague Castle, which lasted from 1996 to 2007, was carried out by the architectural studio DaM of Richard Doležal and Petr Malinský. The Rosenberg Hall was restored to its original formwhich today is used for exhibitions and is open to the public, the aforementioned chapel“, informs historian Lukeš.
Part of the palace remained inaccessible to the public. “Most of the rooms on the ground floor and first floor serve as offices of the Prague Castle Administration and the Castle Police. Fragments of period painting were found in some rooms on the ground floor, which were restored and supplemented,” they informed after the ceremonial opening of the DaM studio.
“The basement spaces serve for the most part as depositories of the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and the Archive of the Office of the President of the Republic. After demolishing the counter roof, closely adjacent to the chapel, a viewing terrace was created. The courtyard of the palace has been modified, one as a park, on the other there is a kennel for service dogs of the Castle Police,” added DaM.
This is what the parade performance of the Castle Guard units looked like, accompanied by the musical accompaniment of the Castle Guard and the Police of the Czech Republic. David Winter
A current exhibition of what the facility looked like when young noblewomen studied here
Author: Hrad.cz