Wallenstein Palace
The warlord who built it lived here barely a year before the Emperor had him killed.
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Built 1623–1630 by Albrecht von Wallenstein — the Thirty Years War's Imperial commander-in-chief — using Italian architects and Florentine artists, this Baroque palace now quietly houses the Czech Senate. The scale of the original ambition against that bureaucratic ending is the whole story.
What to look for
- The Main Hall ceiling fresco painted by Florentine artist Baccio del Bianco during the first year of construction
- The Mythological and Astronomical Corridors, whose astrological decoration was shaped by engineer-colonel Giovanni Pieroni
- The Riding School, attributed to Pieroni, now operating as a branch of the National Gallery
The Riding School operates as a National Gallery branch distinct from the Senate palace buildings; check current access arrangements before visiting.
Wallenstein 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.