Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the cosy former home of an amateur film historian who seems to have just popped out
for lunch - archive footage of the castle is projected on the living-room wall.
Daliborka
This
tower
(Zlatá ulička; admission with Prague Castle tour ticket; 9am-6pm Apr-Oct, to
4pm Nov-Mar)
is named after the knight Dalibor of Kozojedy, imprisoned here in 1498
for supporting a peasant rebellion, and later executed. According to legend, he played
a violin that could be heard throughout the castle; composer Bedřich Smetana based
his 1868 opera
Dalibor
on the tale. You can peer into the bottle dungeon, and see a
small display of torture instruments.
Lobkowicz Palace
sion/family 275/200/690Kč; 10.30am-6pm)
houses a private museum known as the
Princely Collections, which includes priceless paintings, furniture and musical mem-
orabilia. You tour with an audio guide dictated by owner William Lobkowicz and his
family - this personal connection really brings the displays to life, and makes the
palace one of the castle's most interesting attractions.
Built in the 16th century, the palace has been home to the aristocratic Lobkowicz
family for around 400 years. Confiscated by the Nazis in WWII, and again by the
communists in 1948, the palace was finally returned in 2002 to William Lobkowicz,
an American property developer and grandson of Maximilian, the 10th Prince Lob-
kowicz, who fled to the USA in 1939.
Highlights of the museum include paintings by Cranach, Breughel the Elder,
Canaletto and Piranesi, original musical scores annotated by Mozart, Beethoven and
Haydn (the 7th prince was a great patron of music - Beethoven dedicated three sym-
phonies to him), and an impressive collection of musical instruments. But it's the per-
sonal touches that make an impression, such as the 16th-century portrait of a Lobkow-
icz ancestor wearing a ring that William's mother still wears today, and an old photo
album with a picture of a favourite family dog smoking a pipe.
music at 1pm each day.
Rosenberg Palace
This Renaissance
palace
(Rožmberský palác; Jiřská 1; admission included with Prague Castle
long-tour ticket;
9am-6pm Apr-Oct, to 4pm Nov-Mar;
22)
once served as the 'Institute
