Wallenstein Palace (Valdštejnský palác)

The generalissimo of the Austrian emperor, Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, had this huge house built, on the ground plane, underneath the Prague Castle, in the Lesser Town of Prague, a historic town that was born after 1257. In the main hall, we can see the fresco from the seventeenth century, called Wallenstein to represent Mars in a chariot of triumph. We should note, too, the Equestrian Portrait of Wallenstein in the Hall of Knights. The beautiful garden which is part of this architectural complex was built on the model of Italian Baroque style gardens. Until the Thirty Years War (1618 - 1648), there were, in the garden, the original sculptures made by Adrien de Vries, a Dutch sculptor who has spent a lot of time in Prague, especially during the epoch of Rudolf II Habsburg, the major sponsor of arts and sciences. Today, they are replicas. We must also highlight the Sala Terrena, richly decorated. It is used as a theater and a concert hall, especially in summer. In the palace of Wallenstein, there is, nowadays, the Senate of the Czech Republic, the upper chamber of Parliament.