Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Left Bohemian Chancellery Right Land Rolls
Features of the Royal Palace
Vladislav Hall
Benedict Ried created a
mastery of Gothic design with
his elaborate vaulting here. Since
the First Republic, the country's
presidents have been ceremoni-
ously chosen here, but it has
also been used for coronations
and jousting tournaments.
The Diet
Riders' Staircase
The low steps and vaulted
ceiling of this stairway permitted
mounted knights to make spec-
tacular entrances to tournaments
held in Vladislav Hall.
Bohemian Chancellery
The first battle of the Thirty
Years' War was staged here.
Protestant noblemen threw two
Catholic governors and their
secretary from the east window.
Their fall was broken by a dung
heap - or an intervening angel,
depending on whom you ask.
Louis Wing
Only 10 years and a few
steps separate the southern
wing from the main hall, but in
the interim, Benedict Ried moved
castle architecture from Gothic
to Renaissance. Bohemian nobles
met here in an administrative
body when the king was away.
Land Rolls
The coats of arms decora-
ting the walls belong to clerks
who kept tabs on property
ownership and court decisions
from 1614 to 1777. Until the
reign of Maria Theresa, record
books were not numbered, but
identified by elaborate covers.
Diet
Bohemian nobles met here
with the king in a prototype
parliament. The king sat on the
throne (the one seen today is a
19th-century replica), the arch-
bishop sat to the king's right,
while the estates sat on his left.
The portraits on the wall show,
from the left, Maria Theresa, her
husband Franz, Josef II, Leopold
II and Franz I, who fought
Napoleon at Austerlitz.
Riders' Staircase
10
 
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