Prague Castle – The Second Courtyard (Pražský hrad – Druhé nádvoří)
The Second Courtyard at the Prague Castle – Have a Peek in Windows of the Largest State Rooms in the Castle. Welcome to the Second Courtyard in the Prague Castle. You can reach this tour point from two directions. First, you can go through the Matthias Gate leading from Hradčanské square. Or second, you can enter through the Imperial Stables accessible from the Royal Garden and the Upper Stag Moat. We are at a courtyard which was established as an area in front of the castle in the late 16th century. Well, let’s walk on.
Introduction:
Now to the tour of the courtyard which was founded during the reign of the Emperor Rudolph II. All this area is bordered with wings of the New Palace whose description comes later on. It is also connected with the I. Courtyard or with the Na baště Garden and with the Powder Bridge through many passages.
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The courtyard in the west:
In the west, you can see a wing that comes from the period of the reign of Maria Theresa. The ground floor of the wing, along with the Imperial Stables situated in the northern wing, was turned into a Castle Picture Gallery in 1965. You can see another rarity here, the remains of masonry from the Church of Virgin Mary. You can find information on this church in the article about the history of the Prague Castle because it was built in the 9th century and it makes him the oldest church in the Prague Castle.
The largest state rooms in the Castle:
Have a look at the northern wing and you will see the Spanish Hall and also the Rudolph’s Gallery above the Powder Bridge. The Spanish Hall is the largest state room in the Prague Castle and it is used for prestigious assemblies, great receptions of the President or
ceremonial concerts. The rectangular hall has dimensions 47 × 24 m and its ceiling reaches the height of 13 metres. There is beautiful stucco decoration. If you wanted to access the room, you would have to go through the Matthias Gate, climb the stairs into the Josip Plecnik’s Hall of Columns and then go through the Rothmayer Hall.
The courtyard in the east:
Looking at the eastern part of the Second Courtyard, you can see the central wing with the remains of Romanesque walls of Sobeslav I. and the White Tower. You can see all this from the passage in front of the St. Vitus Cathedral. The ground floor of the wing houses an information centre and also an exchange- and post office with an entry from the Third Courtyard. On other floors there are other state rooms and also an archive of the Prague Castle.
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And the last part of the pattern – the south:
The southern wing of the courtyard leads onto the Third Courtyard, directly to the Old Royal Palace. At the time of the Theresian reconstruction of the Prague Castle, the Chapel of the Holy Cross was built in the south-east corner of the Second Courtyard. In the centre of the courtyard you can see the Kohl’s fountain also called the Lion fountain and a well with an iron grate from 1702. There’s nothing more to add. Let us set out to another courtyard, the third one.
Adress:
Prague Castle (Pražský hrad)
119 08 Prague 1 (119 08 Praha 1)
GPS: Loc: 50°5′23.591″N, 14°23′59.79″E
Public transport:
tram: number 1,8,15,18,20,22,26,
subway station , underground stop – Line A – Malostranská
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