Thun Palace

Thun Palace (Thunovský palác) is a Baroque residence in Prague's Malá Strana district that now houses the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Czech Parliament. From the outside it looks like just another aristocratic townhouse tucked beneath Prague Castle, but behind its restrained facade lies more than three centuries of history — as a noble residence, a theatre favoured by an emperor, and finally the working seat of a national legislature.

Where is the palace and what does it look like?

The building stands in the heart of Malá Strana, a short walk from Charles Bridge and the castle hill, on a narrow street called Sněmovní — literally "Parliament Street." The street was named after the palace's function, not the other way around. Its Baroque facade is deliberately understated compared with the grand churches and noble palaces nearby, and that sobriety is itself a clue to the building's long institutional role rather than a purely decorative one.

How did the palace come to be?

The site's story begins in the 17th century. A house belonging to Jan z Roupova once stood here, and in 1650 it was bought by Countess Markéta Anna Thunová, whose family gave the palace its name. The Thuns steadily expanded their holding, acquiring two adjoining properties in 1662 and 1694 and gradually merging them into a single residence. Construction dragged on for decades, and the palace only reached something close to its present form around 1720, in the early 18th century. The work was overseen by a master builder named Achtizinger, though the identity of the architect behind the overall design was never recorded — a reminder that many of Prague's grand residences grew out of a craft-based building tradition rather than a single signed blueprint.

The theatre the emperor liked to visit

The palace's most colourful chapter is its brief life as a theatre. In 1779 part of the building was converted into a stage that quickly became a fixture of Prague's cultural scene. Among its regular visitors was Emperor Joseph II, son of Maria Theresa, whose personal enthusiasm for music and theatre helped fuel the city's cultural flourishing in those years — the same Prague where Mozart's Don Giovanni would premiere to acclaim not long after. The theatre's run ended abruptly in the summer of 1794, when a fire destroyed it.

How did parliament end up here?

After the fire, the palace changed hands and purpose. In 1801 the Thun family sold the building to the Estates of the Kingdom of Bohemia, who set up a regional diet, administrative offices and the estates' archive inside it. From that point on, the building stayed tied to Czech political life. The tradition continued through the founding of independent Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic, and since 1993 the palace has been the meeting place of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, the lower chamber of the country's bicameral legislature.

Frequently asked questions

Can visitors tour Thun Palace? Because the building actively serves as the seat of parliament, public access is limited and usually requires advance registration or participation in an open day organised by the Chamber of Deputies.

Is this the same building that once housed a theatre? Yes — a theatre operated inside the palace from 1779 until it burned down in 1794, after which the building was gradually repurposed for parliamentary use.

Why is the street called Sněmovní? The name comes directly from the Czech word "sněmovna," meaning chamber or assembly, reflecting the role the palace has held since the early 19th century.

Who built the palace? It was commissioned by the Thun family, with construction supervised by master builder Achtizinger; no architect's name has survived in the historical record for the overall design.