This is where you should start your tour of the castle, but before you do so, you should check out some of the grand buildings fronting or close to the square.
The imposing Archbishop's Palace dates back to the mid-15th century, although Bonific Wohlmut's original Renaissance design was later remodeled at the behest of Antonín Bruse of Mohelnice in 1763. Boasting a splendid rococo façade, the palace's interior is equally impressive - a fine set of sumptuous Gobelin tapestries adorn several rooms, with decorative 18th-century furnishings set amidst a large collection of ecclesiastical portraits. Unfortunately, the Archbishop's Palace is not open to the public, but if you look carefully at the heraldic device on the front of the building you can spot different hats according to the rank of the church official. For instance, the archbishop is represented by a green hat with ten tassels, and the bishops are those with green hats and five tassels.
Sharing an entrance with the Archbishop's Palace is the Šternberský palác (Sternberg Palace) from 1698. Named after Franc Josef Sternberg, who founded the Society of Patriotic Friends of the Arts in Bohemia in 1796, this is now the main building of the National Gallery and home to the collection of European art, including Rubens Holbein, Bruegel, Rubens, van Dyck, El Greco, Goya, Gaugin, van Gogh, Picasso, Braque, and Rembrandt. In 1991 thieves stole US$2.6 million worth of Picassos. Admission is 50/20Kč. Works by Czech artists are housed in St George's Convent.
The most distinctive and largest of the buildings on the cobbled square sweeping into the castle is the Schwarzenberg Palace with its decorated bricks. Built between 1545 -1563, originally for the Lobkowicz family, it passed through several hands before the Schwarzenbergs acquired it in 1719. The building has been home to the Museum of Military History since 1945.
The imposing Archbishop's Palace dates back to the mid-15th century, although Bonific Wohlmut's original Renaissance design was later remodeled at the behest of Antonín Bruse of Mohelnice in 1763. Boasting a splendid rococo façade, the palace's interior is equally impressive - a fine set of sumptuous Gobelin tapestries adorn several rooms, with decorative 18th-century furnishings set amidst a large collection of ecclesiastical portraits. Unfortunately, the Archbishop's Palace is not open to the public, but if you look carefully at the heraldic device on the front of the building you can spot different hats according to the rank of the church official. For instance, the archbishop is represented by a green hat with ten tassels, and the bishops are those with green hats and five tassels.
Sharing an entrance with the Archbishop's Palace is the Šternberský palác (Sternberg Palace) from 1698. Named after Franc Josef Sternberg, who founded the Society of Patriotic Friends of the Arts in Bohemia in 1796, this is now the main building of the National Gallery and home to the collection of European art, including Rubens Holbein, Bruegel, Rubens, van Dyck, El Greco, Goya, Gaugin, van Gogh, Picasso, Braque, and Rembrandt. In 1991 thieves stole US$2.6 million worth of Picassos. Admission is 50/20Kč. Works by Czech artists are housed in St George's Convent.
The most distinctive and largest of the buildings on the cobbled square sweeping into the castle is the Schwarzenberg Palace with its decorated bricks. Built between 1545 -1563, originally for the Lobkowicz family, it passed through several hands before the Schwarzenbergs acquired it in 1719. The building has been home to the Museum of Military History since 1945.
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