palác Colloredo-Mansfeld

Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace is one of the most ornate Baroque buildings in Prague's Old Town, standing on Karlova Street just a short walk from Charles Bridge. Its swirling, richly decorated Second Rococo facade catches the eye of visitors walking between the bridge and Old Town Square, though few realize it hides interiors that trace back to the Renaissance and even earlier Romanesque and Gothic construction on the same site.

How did the palace change hands and appearance over the centuries?

A Romanesque house once stood on the site, later replaced by a Gothic building, and at the start of the 17th century the property was rebuilt in Late Renaissance style. It was in this earlier building that, on the night of 8-9 November 1620, the royal council of Frederick of the Palatinate — the so-called Winter King — held its final meeting after the defeat of the Bohemian Estates' army at the Battle of White Mountain. At the time the house belonged to Count Jáchym Ondřej Šlik (Joachim Andreas von Schlick), one of the leaders of the Estates' uprising, who was executed on Old Town Square in 1621 along with the other leaders of the Bohemian revolt.

The property subsequently passed through several hands, including the Jesuit Order and the Elector of Saxony. In the early 18th century it was bought by Count Karl Joachim von Breda, who launched a major Baroque reconstruction generally attributed to architect Giovanni Battista Alliprandi. The work was completed after 1735 by the next owner, Count Heinrich Pavel (Jindřich Pavel) von Mansfeld, who hired architect Franz Ignatz Pree — it was this phase that gave the palace roughly the form and scale it has today.

What is worth seeing inside?

The palace's finest and best-preserved interior is its grand ballroom, whose decoration was essentially finished around 1736-37. The ceiling fresco, depicting an assembly of Olympian gods, was painted by Pietro Scotti together with Giovanni Battista Zeist, who contributed the illusionistic architectural framing known as quadratura. This hall best conveys the opulence of an aristocratic Baroque residence in 18th-century Prague.

In 1842 the palace was structurally merged with the neighboring house and a new passageway was created. The building's real transformation, though, came in 1848, when it passed as a dowry to Princess Vilemína Josefína of the Colloredo-Mannsfeld family. She commissioned the redesign of the facade in the Second Rococo style — the same lavishly stuccoed, sculpted, undulating facade that still defines the building today and gave rise to its combined Colloredo-Mansfeld name.

Who manages the palace today, and can visitors go inside?

After the Second World War the palace housed the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. In 2010 it was transferred into the care of the Prague City Gallery (Galerie hlavního města Prahy, GHMP), which opened it to the public in June 2013. The building is now owned by the City of Prague, and the gallery uses its historic rooms, including the ballroom, for exhibitions and to showcase original palace interiors to visitors.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the palace located? At Karlova 189/2 in Prague's Old Town, on the route connecting Charles Bridge with Old Town Square.

What sets it apart from other Baroque buildings in Prague? Its exceptionally ornate, wave-like Second Rococo facade added in the mid-19th century, which gives it a far more theatrical, decorative look than the more restrained townhouses around it.

Can visitors go inside? Yes — since 2013 part of the palace, managed by the Prague City Gallery, has been open to the public for exhibitions and cultural events.

What historical event is linked to this site? The building that preceded today's palace hosted the final council meeting of Frederick of the Palatinate in November 1620, shortly before he fled Prague following the Battle of White Mountain.