Kinsky Palace
A pink Rococo palace where Kafka went to school, his father sold hats on the ground floor, and communism was declared from the balcony.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Prague offline.
Designed by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer and built between 1755 and 1765, this Old Town Square palace accumulated history at an unusual rate: Nobel Peace Prize winner Bertha von Suttner was born here in 1843, Franz Kafka attended secondary school in the building from 1893 to 1901, and Klement Gottwald used the balcony in 1948 to announce the Communist coup. It has been a National Gallery branch since 1949.
What to look for
- The pink and white stucco exterior, the defining visual signature of the Rococo design.
- Ignaz Franz Platzer's exterior statues representing the classical elements (earth, water, fire, air)
- The balcony above the square, the exact spot from which Gottwald addressed the crowd on the day of the 1948 coup
National Gallery branch on Old Town Square; check current exhibition before visiting as gallery programming rotates.
Kinsky Palace is one of 36 sights worth the detour in Prague, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Prague pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Prague
- Prague CastleThe Guinness-record largest ancient castle on Earth — and the Czech president still works inside it.
- Charles BridgeCzech legend holds that Charles IV chose his construction start time — 5:31am on 9 July 1357 — because the digits form a palindrome he believed would imbue the bridge with additional strength.
- St. Vitus CathedralOne theory holds that the founding duke may have chosen St. Vitus partly because his name echoes a Slavic sun god — making conversion easier for a populace already devoted to the solar deity Svantevit. Christian and pagan communities shared this hilltop until at least the 11th century.
- Dancing HouseTwo interlocked towers shaped like mid-dance partners, built on a Vltava riverfront plot that sat bombed-out and derelict for decades.
- Prague Astronomical ClockEvery hour, a skeleton marks the time — on a clock mechanism that has been running since 1410.
- National Museum in PragueThe building that closes off Wenceslas Square has anchored Czech protests, rallies, and public life since 1891.