Vrbnovský palác

Vrbnovský palác is a Baroque palace on Prague's Hradčany hill, standing on Loretánská street a short walk from the Loreta shrine and Prague Castle. Its facade is easy to miss among the grander noble residences nearby, yet the building carries almost four centuries of history and has served an educational purpose for close to two hundred years — today it houses a music conservatory for blind and visually impaired students.

Where exactly is the palace located?

Vrbnovský palác stands in Hradčany, part of Prague 1, at Loretánská 104/19. The building occupies a plot between two streets: to the north it faces Loretánská, where its facade is lined with arcaded porticos, and to the south it extends down toward Úvoz street, which slopes toward Malá Strana. This placement is typical of Hradčany's noble palaces — right next to the Loreta and along the route leading up to Prague Castle.

What is the history behind the building?

A Renaissance-era house originally stood on the site. In 1661 the property was bought from the Vratislav family (Vratislavové z Mitrovic) by Jan František Bruntálský z Vrbna, whose surname gave the palace its name. The new owner commissioned a thorough Baroque remodeling: the wings surrounding the courtyard and the section of the building rising above Úvoz street were rebuilt. The result is largely the structure recognizable today — a two-story building made up of several wings arranged around two internal courtyards. In the following decades the palace underwent further, smaller modifications, as was common for noble residences that changed hands repeatedly during that era.

Why is it also called Chotkovský dům?

Alongside the name Vrbnovský palác, Prague sources also use the designation Chotkovský dům. This points to a later stage of the building's ownership, tied to the Chotek family — one of the more influential Czech aristocratic houses, whose members played a significant role in Czech administration and public life during the 19th century.

What is housed in the palace today?

Since 1837 the building has served an educational function — first as an institute for the blind, and today as the seat of the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory, a music school for blind and visually impaired young people. The school is named after Jaroslav Ježek, a composer associated with Prague's legendary Liberated Theatre (Osvobozené divadlo), who spent six years studying within these walls. It is a rare case of a building whose original 19th-century social purpose — educating blind people — has continued uninterrupted to this day, now in the form of a music school.

Can visitors go inside the palace?

Because Vrbnovský palác is an active school rather than a museum, its interior is not open to the public in the way a typical sightseeing attraction would be. It is, however, worth pausing at the building while walking through Hradčany — strolling along Loretánská between the Loreta and Prague Castle takes visitors right past its arcaded facade, offering a good look at the scale and Baroque form of the building from the outside.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Vrbnovský palác located? In Hradčany, Prague, at Loretánská 104/19, between Loretánská street and Úvoz street.

Where does the palace's name come from? From Jan František Bruntálský z Vrbna, who bought the building in 1661 and had it rebuilt in the Baroque style.

Why is the palace sometimes called Chotkovský dům? The name refers to its later historical owners from the Chotek family.

What is inside the palace today? The Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory, a music school for blind and visually impaired students, continuing the tradition of the institute for the blind that has operated on the site since 1837.

Can the interior be visited? The building is an active educational institution, so there is no regular tourist access — visitors can mainly admire it from the outside, along Loretánská street.