Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

PRAGUE 241

Wallenstein Palace

and Gardens e

Valdštejnská palác a

zahrada

Valdštejnské náměstí 4. Map C3.

v 12, 18, 20, 22.X Malostranská.

Tel 257 075 707. Palace #

10am–4pm Sat & Sun (subject to

change). 7 from Valdštejnske. ^.

Gardens # Apr, May, Sep & Oct:

7:30am–6pm Mon–Fri; Jun–Aug:

7:30am–7pm Mon–Fri, 10am–6pm

Sat & Sun. 7 from Valdštejnské

náměstí. - http://www.senat.cz

The first important secular

building of the Baroque era in

Prague, the Wallenstein Palace

Little Quarter

Square q
Malostranské náměstí

Map C3. v 12, 20, 22.
X Malostranská.

This sloping square, busy with
trams and people stopping for
a drink or a bite to eat, has
been the centre of activity in
Little Quarter since its founda-
tion in 1257. It began as a
market place in the outer
bailey of Prague Castle. Most
of the houses here have a
medie val core, but all were
rebuilt dur ing the Baroque
and Renaissance periods.
The square is domi nated
by the Church of St Nicholas,
regarded as the best exam-
ple of High Baroque in the
city. Opposite the church is
the vast Neo-Classical façade
of Lichtenstein Palace. Other

Fountain of Venus in front of the

Wallenstein Palace

Baroque Church of St Nicholas in

Little Quarter Square

ALBRECHT VON WALLENSTEIN

Albrecht von Wallenstein (Valdštein)

was born in Bohemia in 1583. He

stud ied in Italy and later converted

to Catholicism. He joined Rudolph II’s

Army and rose in prominence to

lead the imperial arm ies in Europe.

During the Thirty Years’ War he had

several victories over the Protestants.

In 1630, he negotiated secretly with

the Protestants and then joined

them. For this, he was killed in 1634

by merce naries acting on Emperor

Ferdinand II’s orders.

Wallenstein, politician

and commander

Petřín Hill 0
Petřínské sady

Map B4. v 6, 9, 12, 20, 22, then
take the funicular railway from Újezd.

Petřín Hill, to the west of Little
Quarter (Malá Strana), is the
highest of Prague’s nine hills
at 61 m (200 ft). A path winds
up its slopes, offer ing fine
views of Prague, but visitors
can also take the funic ular
from Újezd, which lies to the
south of Little Quarter. At the
top, there are many paths to
explore and several attrac tions,
including a version of the
Eiffel Tower (Rozhledna), built
in 1891 as a tribute to the city’s
strong cul tural and political
links with Paris at that time. A
mini Gothic castle (Bludiště),
con tain ing a hall of distorting
mirrors, is particu larly popular
with children.

stands as a monu ment to the

ambitions of military chief

Albrecht von Wallenstein.

His string of vic tories over

the Protestants in the Thirty

Years’ War made him vital

to Emperor Ferdinand II.

When Wallenstein started

to covet the crown of

Bohemia and also dared to

negotiate with the enemy,

he was assas si nated on the

emperor’s orders.

Wallenstein spent only 12

months in the palace that he

had built for himself between

1620 and 1630. It was

designed by Italian architect

Andrea Spezza. The main hall

has a ceiling fresco of

Wallenstein himself, por trayed

as Mars, the god of war,

riding in a trium phal char iot.

Today, the palace is home to

the Czech Senate. The restored

gardens are laid out as they

were when Wallenstein dined

in the huge garden pavil ion

that looks out over the

Fountain of Venus (1599) and

rows of bronze statues.

important build ings include

the Town Hall, with its fine

Renaissance façade, and

Sternberg Palace, built on

the site of the out break of the

1541 fire, which destroyed

most of the district.

Church of

St Nicholas w

See pp242–3.

(Teologický sál), dating from
the 16th cen tury. It is equally
impressive, with a number of
17th-century astro nomical
globes and fres coes. The
Picture Gallery (Obrazárna),
in the nearby 17th-cen tury
Church of St Roch, is one
of the finest art galleries in
Prague, focusing on the inter-
pre tation of the works of mas-
ters such as Dali and Chagall.