The Supreme Burgrave's House
A part of the front of Jirska street is formed by a fence wall of the courtyard of the Supreme
Burgrave's House. Above the entrance gate there are four coat-of-arms of the supreme burgraves
of the 17th and 18th centuries. The burgraves, whose office developed from the function
of the castle castellan, deputized for the sovereign in the times of his absence.
The office was held by members of the most important noble families.
The seat of the castellans and later the burgraves was evidently situated on its present site already in the Romanesque period. In the 14th century the Burgrave's House served as the temporary residence of the later king and emperor Charles IV. After the fire of 1541 the palace was rebuilt in Renaissance style. In the course of another reconstruction carried out in the 60's of the 20th century some of the original buildings were demolished and replaced with new ones.
The Black Tower, built as the eastern gate of the Romanesque fortification system, is also a part of the area of the Burgrave's House. The upper floor of the tower served as a prison, in particular for debtors.
The Chapel of the Holy Cross in Prague Castle’s Second Courtyard houses an extraordinary display of masterpieces amassed from the 11th century for the St. Vitus Church and Cathedral treasury.
