Queen Anne's Summer Palace (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

: ''Letohrádek královny Anny''), sometimes called Belvedere, is a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

building located in the Royal Garden of

Prague Castle Prague Castle (; ) is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic serving as the official residence and workplace of the president of the Czech Republic. Built in the 9th century, the castle has long served as the seat of power for List of rulers ...

in the

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. It is considered to be one of the purest Italian

Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

located outside of

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History

Ferdinand I commissioned the Summer Palace, built on the eastern edge of the Royal Garden between 1538 and 1560, for his wife Anne Jagiellonica. The garden was founded simultaneously with the palace. It was initially designed by Italian architect Paolo della Stella, and construction was started by Giovanni Spatio, but both men died before the building was completed, as did Jagiellonica. Upon its completion, the palace was not regularly used until

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

converted its first floor into an astronomical observatory, and used the palace to accommodate his guests. After Rudolf II's death, the palace was again unused for over thirty years. Afterwards, it served as a military base for Swedish soldiers in the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

. For over 100 years, an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

laboratory was based on the grounds until the governor Karl, Count Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin evicted the artillery. After it was abandoned by the military, Bernhard Grueber and Pietro Nobile organised the renovation of the building, which included the addition of a picture gallery and a

Classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

staircase. Other reconstruction of the building took place in 1860s. In the 1950s, the palace was restored by a Czech architect Pavel Janák and it served as an exhibition hall. It became a National Cultural Monument in 1962. Since then, the building has provided space for exhibitions of

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and

applied arts The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Univ ...

Description

The lower part of the palace includes the ground floor with an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

gallery around the whole building. On the upper floor are residential areas, a dance hall, and a gallery. Above the arcade gallery, there is first floor with a

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

roof, which was not part of della Stella's original design, but added by Bonifác Wohlmut. There is also a singing fountain from 1654 located in front of the Summer Palace.

References

{{Coord, 50.09370, 14.40536, format=dms, type:landmark_region:CZ, display=title Palaces of Prague Castle Renaissance architecture in the Czech Republic Buildings and structures completed in 1565 Palaces in Prague Renaissance palaces