Picture gallery of Prague Castle. Spanish Hall and Picture Gallery of Prague Castle Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments
(Czech: Obrazárna Pražského Hradu) - the oldest collection of paintings in the Czech Republic. Includes paintings by Italian, German, Dutch and Flemish masters of the 17th century (Tintoretto, Titian, von Aachen, Spranger, Cranach, Rubens), as well as paintings by artists of the Czech school of the 18th–20th centuries (Petr Brandl, Jan Kupetsky, Joseph Manes, Mikolas Ales, Vojtech Ginais, Antonin Hitussi, Antonin Slavicek and others).
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The Prague Castle Art Gallery is the heir Rudolph Galleries, which was founded at the end of the 16th century by the eccentric Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg, known as a generous philanthropist, connoisseur of art and patron of alchemists. During his lifetime, the gallery numbered about three thousand works of painting and included many real masterpieces of his time, but only a few of them have survived to this day (for example, “Feast of Rose Wreaths” by Albrecht Dürer, “Toilet of a Young Woman” by Titian, “Portrait of Veronese” Jacob Koenig).
The decline of the Rudolf Gallery began immediately after the death of the founder in 1612. His successor, Matthias II, transported the best paintings to Vienna, where the imperial court was located. In 1648, most of the collection remaining in Prague was plundered by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years' War.
Over three centuries (1612–1918), the Rudolf Gallery was replenished only once - in 1650, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm bought more than 500 paintings from the collection of the Duke of Buckingham in Antwerp. Among them were such masters as Fetti, Rubens, Rembrandt and Poussin. The rest of the time, the works were periodically exported to the Austrian capital, sold at auctions or “stole” through the numerous halls of Prague Castle, from where they were then appropriated by the enterprising governors of the fortress and ended up in private collections.
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As a result, only the paintings remained, which, due to their poor condition, were in storage or were transferred for temporary use to the Society of Russian Friends of Art, founded in 1796.
Famous Czech artists Karel Skreta and Petr Brandl said that it was in the paintings of the Rudolf Gallery that they found creative inspiration without having to travel throughout Europe.
Only after the emergence of the national state (1918) did the almost disappeared collection begin to be replenished with works of Czech art of the 19th century. Financed the purchase of paintings Masaryk Foundation. Among the artists whose paintings were bought were Norbert Grund, Adolf Kosarek, Jan Preisler and many others.
Was officially created in 1965 to house a collection that could only figuratively be called Rudolf’s. Now it numbers about four thousand works of art and is constantly growing, but only 107 of the most valuable paintings and three sculptures are put on public display.
During archaeological research in 1950, the remains of Church of the Virgin Mary, which is the first Christian building on the territory of the Prague Castle fortress. The ruins were preserved and opened for tours. Tourists can explore the northern half of the nave, the apse and the altar.
- group tour (up to 10 people) for a first acquaintance with the city and main attractions - 3 hours, 20 euros
- a walk through little-known but interesting corners of Prague away from tourist routes to feel the real spirit of the city - 4 hours, 30 euros
- bus tour for those who want to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the Czech Middle Ages - 8 hours, 30 euros
The Spanish Hall and the Picture Gallery of Prague Castle house works of art that were formerly part of the collection of the Rudolf Gallery. This collection was created at the end of the 16th century by Emperor Rudolf II, a true connoisseur of painting.
During the reign of Rudolf II, significant changes were made to the area and the northern wing was built. On its ground floor there were court stables, the western part of which was already used by the Picture Gallery, and the Spanish Hall was created above them for a collection of sculptures. The name of this ceremonial room has no direct relation to Spain. The hall was named after the emperor's favorite Spanish horses. The Rudolph Gallery occupied the top three floors of the northern wing and was intended to house the imperial collections.
Rudolf II was an intelligent and enthusiastic, but withdrawn and eccentric person. He did not like to engage in politics and the direct responsibilities of the ruler of the state, but he had a passion for the occult sciences and was known as a generous philanthropist and patron of the arts. The emperor collected paintings, obtained rare specimens for his Kunstkamera, collected minerals, and encouraged the research of alchemists. The monarch also loved thoroughbred horses.
Spanish hall
Construction of the Renaissance Spanish Hall (Španělský sál) took place in 1602–06. The work was supervised by the architect Filippi. The hall is impressive in its size - length 43 m, width 21, height 12. A number of columns were installed in the center of the room, which supported the painted ceiling. The wall frescoes were painted by Hans Vredeman de Vries.
In the Baroque era, the hall was rebuilt: the columns were removed and the ceiling was made vaulted. Later, architects K.I. Dientzenhofer and A. Lurago raised the level of the vault by three meters, making it straight, decorated the ceiling with stucco, and created a new luxurious parquet floor.
Baroque portico in the garden On the bastion
Under Maria Theresa, the façade of the Spanish Hall was decorated in the Baroque style. A portico was added on the side of the bastion garden. In 1836, oak parquet was laid in the hall again, and eight huge mirrors were mounted on the walls.
A wedge-shaped corridor was created along the Spanish Hall in the second half of the 18th century. In 1865-1868. In connection with the coronation of Franz Joseph I, which, by the way, did not take place, the hall was reconstructed for the last time. Allegorical sculptures by Vigne were installed: Industry, Science, Trade and Art. The appearance of the hall as a whole has been preserved to this day since 1868.
Gallery of Rudolf II
Prague Castle Picture Gallery (Obrazárna Pražského Hradu), photo fisherbray
The premises of the Rudolfova gallery (Rudolfova galerie) were built according to the design of the architect D. Gargioli before the Spanish Hall - in 1597–98. The entrance to the gallery is on the ground floor in the north wing. You can go through the lobby of Karnak - under the stairs leading to the State Rooms. The gallery premises during the latest reconstruction were designed by Borek Šipek, who served as the chief architect of Prague Castle since 1992.
The gallery was founded by Rudolf II at the end of the 16th century. During the life of the emperor, his collection consisted of about three thousand different exhibits. It contained paintings by many great painters; The collection of rarities included a unique copy of the Satanic Bible, which existed in one copy, and a “magic lantern” - the predecessor of the modern film projector. After Rudolf's death, the richest collection was gradually dismantled and sold by his heirs. So to Vienna as royal property of the Habsburgs, when the residence of Emperor Matthias II was moved there, many objects of art were transported; some were sold at auctions for ridiculous amounts of money (in 1782, Dürer’s “Feast of the Rosary” was sold for 1 guilder, Titian’s “Madonna” was bought for 2 guilders). Most of the exhibits were captured by the Swedes in 1648 and taken from Prague.
For almost three centuries, the collection of the Rudolf Gallery has been inexorably declining. It was replenished only once. Archduke Leopold Wilhelm bought more than 500 paintings from the collection of the Duke of Buckingham for his brother, Ferdinand III, in Antwerp in 1650. These were works by Rubens, Fetti, Poussin, Rembrandt and others. But works of art continued to be regularly exported to Vienna. Only paintings in poor condition remained in Prague, which were placed in storage or transferred to the Society of Domestic Friends of Art, founded in 1796, for temporary use.
Only in the 20th century, after the emergence of the Czechoslovak state, with the support of the Masaryk Foundation, the collection again began to be replenished with works of national art of the Czech Republic from the 19th century.
Prague Castle Picture Gallery
In 1965, the Prague Castle Picture Gallery (Obrazárna Pražského Hradu) was opened to house the masterpieces of the collection, which traditionally continued to be called Rudolph's. Now its collection includes more than 4,000 exhibits, but only a small part is on display - about four hundred paintings and drawings.
The most valuable works of the Rudolf Gallery are “The Toilet of a Young Woman” by Titian, “The Flagellation of Christ” by Tintoretto, “The Assembly of the Gods of Olympus” by Peter Paul Rubens. The exhibition features paintings by Hans Aachen, Domenico Fetti, Spranger, Veronese, Bassano, and other masters. The authorship of some paintings was established through scientific analysis.
Entrance to the gallery from the II courtyard of Prague Castle.
See current information on ticket prices.
Prague Castle Picture Gallery
Pražský hrad, 119 08 Praha 1, Czech Republic
hrad.czTake tram number 22 to the Pražský hrad stop. Turn left (cross the road) and go along U Prašného mostu street, cross the Powder Bridge. Enter the II courtyard of Prague Castle.
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During the years of Nazi occupation, the gallery officially became known as the “Gallery of the Czech-Moravian Land”. In 1949, the modern National Gallery was officially created by law #148/1949.
In 1995, the newly renovated Exhibition Palace building was transferred to the National Gallery. It houses a collection of contemporary art. We'll start with the Exhibition Palace.
Exhibition Palace
Subjects: International art of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
How to get there: By metro to Vltavska station (Vltavska) on line C (red). For a map of the Prague metro, see our article “”.
After exiting the metro, turn right and walk along the park. At the next intersection turn left onto Hermanovo Street, follow this street for 300 meters to the Exhibition Palace building. See the photo of the building in the first photo in this article, the interior in the second photo, click on the photo to enlarge.
: Unfortunately, there is nothing important nearby, except for the Parkhotel Praha, a popular tourist hotel.
The Exhibition Palace displays works by German and Austrian modernists: Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka, Emil Orlik; Norwegian master Edvard Munch; Russian masters Aristarkh Lentulov and Robert Falk; Spaniards Joan Miró, Anthony Tapies, Anthony Clavet.
The National Gallery is especially proud of contemporary French painting; the collection was expanded through the efforts of Vinzenz Kramar and President Tomas Masaryk. The French collection contains paintings by the famous: Auguste Rodin, Eugene Delacroix, Jean Camille Corot, Camille Pissarro, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, Georges Seurat.
Also in the Exhibition Hall are works by famous cubists: Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Marc Chagall, Pierre Bonnard, Maurice de Vlaminck.
And, of course, works by the most famous Czechs: Alfons Mucha, Josef Vaclav Myslbek, Vojtěch Ginais, Maximillian Pirner, Frantisek Bilek.
In total, more than 2,000 works are presented in the Exhibition Hall. There is a separate exhibition of 21st century art.
The most interesting works: “Innocence” by Gustav Klimt, “Lovers” by Pierre Auguste Renoir, “Apple Trees” by Claude Monet. A particularly striking impression is made by Alphonse Mucha’s painting “The Slavic Epic,” assembled from 20 parts. See it in the photo above, click on the photo to enlarge.
Subjects: Art of Asia.
How to get there: By metro to Staromestska station, line A (green).
After exiting the metro, walk along Kaprova Street 250 meters in the direction opposite to car traffic. You will arrive at Old Town Square. The Kinski Palace is located to the left of the Tyn Church. Photo of the palace on the right, click to enlarge.
What attractions are nearby: Here on the Old Town Square there are also. If you follow the traffic from the Staromestska metro station and turn left at the first intersection, then after 300 meters you will come to.
The exhibition includes more than 13,000 works of art from China, Japan, Tibet, Korea and other countries of Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Here you can see Chinese and Japanese ceramics, netsuke figurines, Tibetan tanka paintings, masks and sculptures, archaic art and much more.
This exhibition of the National Gallery is very similar to the Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow both in the size of the exhibition, and in composition, and in the style of the building and halls.
Subjects: Art in Bohemia from the Rudolf era to the Baroque.
How to get there: Located directly in front of the western gate of Prague Castle (Giant's Gate). Read more about the route here in our article “”.
What attractions are nearby: Prague Castle, .
The Schwarzenberg Palace houses 160 sculptures and 280 late Renaissance and Baroque paintings painted in Bohemia from the late 16th to the late 18th centuries.
Among others, we highlight the works of the Czechs Karel Skret and Petr Brandl, the Germans Hans von Aachen and Bartholomew Spranger.
Subjects: European art from antiquity to baroque.
How to get there: Located 50 meters north of the Schwarzenberg Palace. In front of the western gate (Giant's Gate) of Prague Castle. Read more about the route in our article “”.
What attractions are nearby: Prague Castle, .
The halls of the first floor of the Schwarzenberg Palace are dedicated to the collection of paintings from the 14th to 16th centuries from Konopiste Castle, which belonged to Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Here you can see paintings and icons by Tuscan artists Bernardo Daddi and Lorenzo Monaco; Venetians and Florentines Agnolo Bronzino and Alessandro Allori.
On the second floor, works by masters from the 16th to 18th centuries are exhibited. Here you will find works by Tintoretto, Jose de Ribera, Giovanni Tiepoloba, El Greco, Francisco Goya, Rubens, Anthony Van Dyck. Dutch painting is represented by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Gerard Terborch, Salomon van Ruisdael, Jan van Goyen.
The office of Joseph Hoser, a famous collector and philanthropist who did a lot for the National Gallery, is open to visitors.
Anege Monastery (Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia)
Subjects: Medieval art of Bohemia and Central Europe from 1200 to 1550.
How to get there: Take the Prague metro to Namesti Republiky station.
Next, we strongly recommend taking a taxi so as not to get lost in Prague’s many narrow streets. Tell the taxi driver the phrase “Anezka Czech Cluster”, he will understand the destination. The trip will cost about 50 Czech crowns. Read more in our article “”.
What attractions are nearby: There is nothing attractive for tourists nearby. Take a taxi and go to Old Town Square to see the Astronomical Clock, Tyn Church and other National Gallery exhibitions.
The exhibition on the ground floor shows the development of art in the Czech Republic, starting with icon painting and sculptures of the early 14th century. Icons, paintings, panels, and wood carvings are exhibited here. For many paintings, the author remains unknown; on the explanatory plate you can only see the approximate time and city of origin.
Don't try to see all the National Gallery exhibitions in one day or even two days. You will spend a lot of extra time on transport. Try to visit exhibitions together with other Prague attractions;
You can take photographs in the halls, but without flash;
Enjoy viewing the masterpieces in the National Gallery, and read our interesting articles about the Czech Republic ( links below).
Hello friends. The National Gallery in Prague (Národní galerie v Praze) contains magnificent examples of art from different countries from the late 19th century to the present day. This is one of the largest and most complete museums in Europe. The collections are divided by theme and are located in 6 different buildings in the city. Tourists often forget this fact and get confused. Today we will talk about what buildings the National Gallery consists of, where they are located and what can be seen in their collections.
Administrative district Prague 1, 7. Historical districts , , .
The buildings of the National Gallery in Prague are geographically located in different parts of the city, but not far from each other.
The gallery itself was created as an educational center. The history of its origin differs from museums in other countries and is closely connected with the history of the Czech Republic and the formation of national identity.
The original idea and mission is to uplift the spirit of the nation through exposure to art.
Today, the gallery positions itself as a research organization whose main task is to conduct fundamental and applied scientific research and development, disseminate their results and educate.
The National Gallery in Prague is one of the largest museum collections in Europe.
Historical reference
Since the 11th century, the Czech Republic has been part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, a multinational state founded in 962 by the king of the East Franks, Otto I.
From the middle of the 15th century, the imperial throne was occupied by representatives of the Habsburg dynasty, who consistently pursued a policy of German colonization of Czech lands and support of Catholicism against the popular Reformation.
At the end of the 18th century, the Czech Renaissance movement began. “Awakeners” (i.e., educators) spoke out in defense of the Czech language and tried to revive the national identity of the Czechs through science, literature, and theater.
The date of birth of the gallery is considered to be February 5, 1796. On this day, Count Franz Joseph Sternberg and a group of prominent representatives of the local aristocracy and bourgeoisie created the Society of Patriotic Friends of Art.
“The Society established two important cultural objects in Prague: the Academy of Arts and the Picture Gallery, which is the forerunner of the current National Gallery.”
In 1902, the collection of the Gallery of Modern Art of the Kingdom of Bohemia (the private collection of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Habsburg, founded in 1901) was added to the Society's museum collection.
In 1918, the Society's Picture Gallery became the main art collection of the new state of Czechoslovakia.
Under the leadership of collector and art critic Vincenz Kramar, the gallery developed dynamically until the outbreak of World War II.
During the period of fascist occupation, the museum's funds were transferred to the new National Gallery of the Czech Republic-Moravia.
The Law of 1949 established the National Gallery of Prague in its current form.
6 gallery buildings
The permanent exhibition of the museum occupies 6 buildings, each of which can be called a landmark of the capital.
In addition, temporary exhibitions are held:
- In the Wallenstein Manege
- Old Town Manege
European art from antiquity to the Baroque era is represented.
The palace began to be built by Count Vaclav Sternberg around 1697 according to the design of Dominico Martinelli. In 1811, the Society of Patriotic Friends of Art acquired the palace from Leopold Sternberg, after which the building underwent reconstruction necessary to turn it into a museum.
The Society's collections were opened to the public in 1814.
In the period after 1946 and in 2002 - 2003, the building was also significantly reconstructed.
The exhibition includes a collection of works from the 14th to 16th centuries from the castle that belonged to Archduke Franz Fridinand, who was killed in Sarajevo in 1914: old Tuscan masters (Lorenzo Monaco and others), the Venetian school, masterpieces of Florentine mannerism.
An entire floor is occupied by works by Italian, Spanish, French, and Dutch masters of the 16th - 18th centuries: Paulo Veronese, Elgreco, Francisco Goya, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Frans Hals.
The exhibition of German and Austrian art of the 16th – 18th centuries includes the gallery’s masterpiece “The Feast of the Rosary” by Albrecht Dürer. The painting was painted in Venice in 1506, and was later acquired and transported to Prague by Emperor Rudolf II.
Monastery of St. Agnes of Bohemia
The Monastery of St. Agnes of Bohemia exhibits examples of medieval art from Bohemia and Central Europe: the work of the master Theodoric, master of the Třeboň Altar.
The exhibition is located in the original interiors of the first monastery of the Claritian Order in Bohemia, founded in 1231 by St. Agnieszka of Bohemia, daughter of King Přemysl Ottokar I.
Salmovsky Palace or Little Schwarzenberg
The task in the neoclassical style appeared on the site where several aristocratic mansions stood and belonged to the Prague Archbishop V. Florentan, prince of the ancient German family of Sal-Salma. The palace was named after him.
Construction lasted from 1800 to 1811, after which the palace was bought by Joseph Schwarzenberg and annexed it to his palace house.
After World War II, the building went to the state. It gradually deteriorated until in 2004 it was given to the Prague National Gallery. In 2011, the reconstruction of the building was completed.
The Salmovski Palace and the Schwarzenberg Palace today stand close to each other.
In the Salmovsky Palace, works of art of the 19th century are represented by the most significant works of painting and sculpture from the era of classicism to romanticism.
Schwarzenberg Palace
Designated for Baroque painting of the 17th - 18th centuries, as well as works by court mannerists from the reign of Emperor Rudolf II (1575 - 1611): Hans von Aachen, Bartholomeus Spranger, Roelant Saverey and others.
Palace of Exhibitions (Palace of Fairs or Veletřini Palace)
- the largest of the museum’s buildings, it exhibits masterpieces of world art from the 19th century to the present day.
At one time, Emperor Rudolf II of the Habsburg dynasty collected a unique collection of paintings. Today, only part of this collection is in the Picture Gallery of Prague Castle.
The collection has partially survived, but the masterpieces that are now housed in the gallery deserve attention, so a tourist route in Prague must include a visit to this amazing paradise of artists’ creations.
The art gallery was opened to the public in 1965 and has been rebuilt several times since then. It is located in the northern wing of the New Royal Palace, in the former stables of Emperor Rudolf II, where he kept his beloved Spanish horses. The gallery still displays the remains of the first Prague Castle church, founded by Borzivoj 1 in the 9th century, and discovered during restoration.
The best art gallery filled with amazing and vibrant colors will mesmerize everyone who loves and appreciates art.
The exhibition of the Prague Castle Picture Gallery offers more than 100 paintings and 3 statues, this is the best one hundred selected from 4000 works of art belonging to Prague Castle. The oldest works in the collection date back to the time of Rudolf II, but only a few have survived. The exhibition displays paintings collected over the centuries.
An interesting image is the Collection of the Olympian Gods by Rubens, which depicts the lusty Venus and the excited Jupiter.
In the halls of the Picture Gallery there is a portrait made by the artist Paulus Roy, creating a triple illusory image - Rudolph on the left, his predecessors from the Habsburg family on the right. The master of the artistic brush often depicted the emperor in his canvases in a humorous manner. In one of the most famous surreal portraits of Rudolph by artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo, the emperor's face is depicted as a collage of fruit. His eyes are cherries, his cheeks are apples, and his hair is grapes. “The Toilet of a Young Woman” is an early work by the artist, which is located in another room of the Art Gallery in Prague. Veronese's best masterpiece is the portrait of his friend, the German Jacob Konig, who worked for Rudolf II and traded works of art in Venice.
Among the artists whose works are shown in the Art Gallery are Adrien de Vries (copy of the bust of Rudolf II), Titian (The Toilet of a Young Lady), Rubens (Collection of the Olympian Gods), Guido Reni (Centaur Nessus Abducting Deneir), Master Theodoric , Paolo Veronese, Czech Baroque artists Jan Kupecký and Peter Brandl, and many others.
Address of the Prague Castle Picture Gallery: U Prasneho mostu, Prague 1
Opening hours of the Prague Castle Art Gallery: daily from 10.00 to 18.00
Prague Castle Art Gallery ticket prices: 150 CZK
