Menhartovský palác

Menhartovský palác is a Baroque town palace in Prague's Old Town, squeezed between Celetná Street and Štupartská Street, just steps from the Old Town Square. The name sounds aristocratic, and in a way it is — it comes from one of the building's historical owners, while the structure itself hides a history far older than its Baroque shell suggests.

Where exactly is the palace located?

The building sits on a plot between Celetná 17 and Štupartská 12, right in the heart of the Old Town, a short walk from the Powder Tower and the Old Town Square. This narrow, deep-set plot is typical of the oldest medieval core of Prague — land that carried earlier houses long before the Baroque rebuilding that gave the palace its current appearance.

How did the palace get its present shape?

The building took its current form around 1700, when several older houses on the site were merged into a single Baroque palace. The story of the plot goes back much further, though: the earliest mention of one of the houses that stood here dates to 1402, and a 1413 sale document already records the property's own name, "U koz" ("At the Goats"). Later owners included Kryštof Harant of Polžice and Bezdružice and Adam of Valdštejn, followed by Jan Kristián Stubig — but it was a later owner, Jan Bedřich Menhart, whose name eventually stuck to the building.

The Piarists and an 18th-century rebuild

In 1752 the palace passed to the Piarist order, which set up its college inside. The college's director at the time was the historian Gelasius Dobner, a notable figure of the Bohemian Enlightenment. Ownership changed again in 1780, when the building became private property: a silk and wool textile manufactory was established inside, and the palace itself was remodeled in an early Classicist style, likely to a design by František Heger.

What survives inside the building?

One of the more striking surviving details is a wooden sculpture of Hercules with a lion, placed beneath the staircase. It dates from the mid-18th century and is attributed to the sculptor and woodcarver Lazar Widmann — a rare piece of decorative sculpture that still recalls the palace's Baroque-to-Classicist transformation, despite the many alterations the building has undergone since.

What is the palace used for today?

Menhartovský palác has been listed as a cultural monument since 1964, and its interior today houses Divadlo v Celetné, a working theatre that puts the historic walls to active cultural use. That combination of old architecture and a live cultural function means the building isn't just a facade to admire from the street — it's a place visitors can actually step inside for a performance.

Frequently asked questions

Can the palace be visited? It isn't run as a museum, but a working theatre operates inside, so visitors can enter for performances and other events staged by Divadlo v Celetné.

Where does the name "Menhartovský" come from? From Jan Bedřich Menhart, one of the building's historical owners.

How old is the building? Its current Baroque form dates from around 1700, but the plot and the earlier houses on it are documented as far back as 1402.

Does any original interior decoration survive? Yes — an 18th-century wooden sculpture of Hercules and a lion, attributed to Lazar Widmann, stands beneath the staircase.

Where in Prague is it located? In the Old Town, between Celetná and Štupartská streets, close to the Old Town Square.