Kolovrat Palace in Malá Strana

Kolovrat Palace is a Baroque building on Valdštejnská street in Prague, squeezed between the Wallenstein Palace courtyard and the Kolovrat Garden. Behind its unassuming façade lies more than four centuries of history, running from ordinary burgher houses through an aristocratic art collection to cabinet meetings that shaped the fate of an entire country.

When and how did the current building take shape?

The plot beneath today's palace originally held two separate houses, merged into one property as early as 1603 under Vilém the Elder Popel of Lobkovice, who had it enlarged. The late-Baroque look visitors recognize now only arrived more than a century later, when Marie Barbora, wife of Hermann Jakub Černín of Chudenice, hired architect Ignác Jan Nepomuk Palliardi to reshape the building into a proper palace.

Why is it named after the Kolovrat family?

The family whose name the palace carries had nothing to do with its construction — they only took possession in the second half of the 19th century. Count Zdeněk Kolovrat-Krakovský took it over in 1886, converting the interior into a private collector's residence with a painting gallery, a large library, and a coin cabinet, and adding fresh neo-Baroque touches to the façade. From then on, the family name stuck permanently to the address.

What happened here in 1938 and 1939?

After the First World War the building passed to the young Czechoslovak state and began serving as a government office. One room, known as the Green Salon, earned a place in the history books: it was there that Czechoslovak ministers met as the country faced the demands issued from Munich, and again soon after, when the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed. Those walls witnessed some of the most dramatic cabinet sessions of the country's twentieth century.

What is Kolovrat Palace used for today?

The building is now part of the complex housing the Senate of the Czech Parliament, next to the Wallenstein Palace grounds — palace, garden, and riding hall — and the Small Fürstenberg Palace. A full renovation between 2003 and 2006 brought back the shine of its grand reception rooms, including the Pink and Green Salons. From the street, look for the entrance portal with oval Kolovrat coat-of-arms cartouches and a Black Madonna above the door, plus cherub figures and a stone vase on the attic; inside, a Baroque staircase rises on stone pillars.

Can visitors step inside?

Because the palace works as an active part of a state institution, it has no regular visiting hours. The exception comes on open-house days the Senate organizes around public holidays — the only chance to see the Green and Pink Salons in person. Outside those dates the interior stays closed to tourists, though the façade and portal can be admired from the street year-round.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the palace's exact address? Valdštejnská 10, Prague 1, Malá Strana — right beside the Wallenstein Palace grounds that form the Senate's seat.

Who gave the building its current appearance? In the 18th century, Marie Barbora Černínová hired architect Ignác Jan Nepomuk Palliardi to rebuild it in late-Baroque style.

What does the palace's name refer to? From the Kolovrat family, specifically Count Zdeněk Kolovrat-Krakovský, who purchased the property in 1886.

What ties the palace to Munich and the Protectorate? The Czechoslovak cabinet met in the Green Salon in 1938 and 1939 to respond to the Munich demands and to proclaim the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

Is the palace open to the public? Only occasionally, during Senate open-house days around public holidays; the rest of the year its interior is off-limits to visitors.