Wallenstein Palace (valdštejnský palác)

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Wallenstein Palace is late Renaissance style.  It is now the seat of the Czech Senate and sprawls over a whole city block at the foot of the castle. Built between 1624 and 1630 it is Mala Strana's most ostentatious monument reflecting the ambition of its builder, Albrecht von Wallenstein. He was a minor nobleman from northern Bohemia.  He married an old but immensely rich widow, rose to the commander of the Catholic forces and became the country's greatest landowner by acquiring the estates of exiled Protestant aristocrats at unbelievable cheap price. His ambitions caused suspicion and he was killed by a mob of soldiers with a halberd.



In the center of the main façade is the three-arched Sala terrena.  It links the place to the parterres and statuary of its high walled formal garden.  Standing in front is an avenue of muscular bronze statues, masterpieces of sculptor Adrien de Vries.  They are copies and the real ones stay in Stockholm.

















Don't miss the charming statue of Venus.  It adorns the Sala terrena.  Inside are rich ceiling paintings.













Location: Prague, Czech Republic

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