234 CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp288–91 and pp292–5

Prague Castle

Picture Gallery 1
Obrazárna pražského
hradu

Prague Castle, second courtyard.
Map B3. Tel 224 373 531. v 22.
X Malostranská, Hradčanská.

Apr–Oct: 9am–6pm daily; Nov–

Mar: 9am–4pm daily. & 7
http://www.obrazarna-hradu.cz

This gallery was created in
Prague Castle in 1965 to dis-
play, among other works, what
remains of the great art collec-
tion of the Habsburg Emperor
Rudolph II (r. 1576–1612).
Though many works of art
were looted by the occu pying
Swedish Army in 1648, some
fine paint ings remain, includ-
ing works by art ists Hans von
Aachen and Bartolomeus
Spranger. Paintings from the
16th to the 18th centuries
make up the bulk of the gal-
lery’s collec tion. High lights
include Rubens’s The Assembly
of the Olympic Gods, featuring
Venus and Jupiter, Tintoretto’s
Flagellation of Christ and
Titian’s The Toilet of a Young
Lady. Master Theodoric, Paolo
Veronese and the Czech
Baroque artists Jan Kupecký
and Petr Brandl are among the
other painters represented.
The sculp tures include a bust
of Rudolph II by Adriaen Vries.
Visitors can also see the
remains of the castle’s first
church, the 9th-century Church
of Our Lady, believed to have
been built by Prince Bořivoj,
the first Přemyslid prince to
be bap tized a Christian.

Rib vaulting in the Vladislav Hall, Old Royal Palace

St Vitus’s

Cathedral 3

See pp236–7.

Old Royal Palace 2

Starý královský palác

Prague Castle, third courtyard.

Map B3. Tel 224 373 102.

v 22.X Malostranská,

Hradčanská. # Apr–Oct: 9am–

6pm daily; Nov–Mar: 9am–4pm

daily. & 7 ^ http://www.hrad.cz

From the time Prague

Castle was first fortified in

the 11th century, the Old

Royal Palace was the seat of a

long line of Bohemian kings.

The vast palace complex

consists of three different

architec tural layers. A

Romanesque palace, built

around 1135, forms the

basement of the present

structure. Over the next 200

years, two further palaces

were built above this – the

first by Přemysl Otakar II

in 1253, and the second

by Charles IV in 1340. On

the top floor is the massive

Gothic Vladislav Hall, with

St George’s Basilica

and Convent 4

Bazilika a klášter sv Jiří

Jiřská náměstí. Map B3. Tel 224

373 368. v 22.X Malostranská,

Hradčanská. # Apr–Oct: 9am–6pm

daily; Nov–Mar 9am–4pm daily. &

7 ^ Concerts # Apr–Sep: call

for timings. http://www.hrad.cz

St George’s Basilica was

founded by Prince Vratislav

in 920 and is the best pre-

served Romanesque church

in Prague. The huge twin

towers and austere interior

have been restored to give

an idea of the church’s

original appearance.

The inte rior con tains

the 10th-cen tury tomb of

Vratislav I, located oppo site

the presbytery. Also buried

in the church are Prince

Boleslav II, who died in 992,

and Princess Ludmila (grand-

mother of St Wenceslas), who

was mur dered in 921 and is

revered as the first Bohemian

saint. Her 14th-cen tury tomb-

stone is located in the Gothic

side chapel. Other points of

interest include a rare early

Titian’s The Toilet of a Young Lady

in Prague Castle Picture Gallery

its splendid rib vaulting.

Designed for King Vladislav

Jagiello, it was completed

in 1502. The Rider’s Staircase,

just off the hall, is a flight

of steps with a magnificent

Gothic rib-vaulting ceiling.

It was used by knights on

horseback to get to joust-

ing contests.

Under Habsburg rule,

the palace housed govern-

ment offices, courts and

the old Bohemian parliament.

The Bohemian Chancellery,

the former royal offices of

the Habsburgs, is the site

of famous 1618 defenes-

tration, In 1619 the

Bohemian nobles deposed

Emperor Ferdinand II as king

of Bohemia, electing in his

place Frederick of the

Palatinate. This led to the

first major battle of the

Thirty Years’ War (see p228).