Bretfeldovský Palác — the Baroque house on Malá Strana where Mozart and Casanova once mingled

Bretfeldovský palác stands in the upper stretch of Nerudova Street in Prague's Malá Strana district, just a short walk below Prague Castle. It's a Baroque building with Rococo touches, protected as a cultural monument, and one of those addresses on the way up to the castle that hides a livelier past than its modest facade suggests.

Where does the name come from?

The building started life as an ordinary burgher house, its layout shaped by Renaissance and early Baroque construction work carried out around 1659. It picked up its current name only in 1765, when Josef Bretfeld bought the property on June 13 of that year. Bretfeld was rector of Charles University, and he had the house rebuilt that same year, likely under the direction of architect Jan Josef Wirch. His own social standing rose in parallel with the building's makeover: Empress Maria Theresa granted him nobility in 1770, Emperor Francis II knighted him in 1793, and he was elevated to the rank of free baron in 1807.

What ties the palace to Mozart and Casanova?

Baron Bretfeld filled the house with an extensive collection of books and paintings and turned it into one of Prague's more sought-after social venues, hosting balls and concerts that drew a fashionable crowd. Among the guests recorded at these gatherings were Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giacomo Casanova. Mozart himself referenced attending one such ball in a letter to Gottfried von Jacquin, written from Prague and dated January 15, 1787 — the piece of correspondence that anchors the palace's association with the composer today. Casanova, in Prague around the same period, is remembered as part of the same social circle that gathered under Bretfeld's roof.

What to notice walking up Nerudova Street

The palace sits at Nerudova 33/240, among the run of historic townhouses that line this famous street connecting Malostranské náměstí to the gates of Prague Castle. Its facade, more understated than the grand aristocratic residences nearby, still carries the legible traces of the Baroque-Rococo remodeling Bretfeld commissioned in 1765. Walking up toward the castle, it's easy to pass the building without realizing it once hosted one of eighteenth-century Prague's more socially active households.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Bretfeldovský palác located? In Prague's Malá Strana district, in the upper part of Nerudova Street, at number 33/240.

Where does the palace's name come from? From Josef Bretfeld, rector of Charles University, who bought the building in 1765 and commissioned its rebuilding.

What architectural style does the building represent? Baroque with Rococo elements, built on an older Renaissance and early Baroque townhouse layout dating to around 1659.

Did Mozart really visit this palace? Yes — he mentioned attending a ball there in a letter to Gottfried von Jacquin dated January 15, 1787.

What is the palace's connection to Casanova? Giacomo Casanova was among the guests who attended the balls and concerts hosted at the palace during Baron Bretfeld's time.