Prague Castle

"We believe in democracy, we believe in liberty - and liberty evermore..."
from the Declaration of Czecho-Slovak Independence, Paris, 18 October 1918

The State Rooms

1. Western wing (the Matyas Gate, the Pacassi Staircase, the Hall of Columns, the Rothmayer Hall)
2. Northern wing (the Wedge Corridor, the Spanish Hall, the Rudolph Gallery)
3. Central wing (the Broad Corridor, the New drawing rooms, the White Tower, the Old Hall, the Janak Hall, the Octagon)
4. Southern wing (the Cloakroom, First (Children's) drawing-room, the Throne Room, the Brozik drawing-room, the Habsburg drawing-room, the Glass drawing-room, the Small drawing-room, the Mirror drawing-room, the Drawing-room with a fireplace, the Music Room, the Reception Room, the Cloakroom)

The halls and large and small salons intended for the reception of official guests of the President of the Czech Republic form a ring on the level of the first floor of all the wings of the so-called New Palace. Some of them served as state rooms and particularly dwelling quarters of the sovereigns already in the 16th century. At the time of the Theresian reconstruction in the 18th century the rooms in the southern wing gained their present appearance. In the same period the heterogeneous buildings of the northern wing of the New Palace were connected. After 1918 the ring of state rooms was completed with a monumental interior in the western wing. Now it serves as an entrance. From the Matthias Gate between the First and Second Courtyards Pacassi's Staircase leads directly to the state rooms in the southern wing and the Hall of Columns with the Rothmayer Hall to the large interiors of the northern wing.

In the 16th century two large halls - the Spanish Hall and the Rudolph Gallery - originated in it for the collections of the Emperor Rudolph II. Nowadays important state events, concerts and social gatherings take place in here.Running through the central wing of the New Palace is the so-called Broad Corridor on which the New drawing rooms, subjected to adaptations in the 60's of the 20th century, neighbour.

The central wing of the palace is connected with the southern one by the Janák Hall and the Octagon.
A number of drawing rooms in the southern wing were being gradually restored from 1918 for the state purposes of the president of the republic. Similarly as in all the state rooms of the Prague Castle changes are still being made in their furnishing and equipment.

The state-rooms are not ordinarily open to the visitors of the Castle. Usually, they are open to the public twice a year - in May on the day of remembrance of the Day of liberation from fascism( the first Saturday after May 8 as a rule), and in October on the day of remembrance of the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic (the first Saturday after October 28 as a rule).

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