Palais Thun
The Palais Thun ( Thunovský palác in Czech ) is a palace on the Lesser Town in Prague . The palace is the seat of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament and is located in the immediate vicinity of Palais Waldstein , the seat of the second chamber of the parliament, the Senate .
history
The palace was built in the Baroque period when the Lords of Thun bought several pieces of land, demolished most of the original structure and erected the building in its current form. The building is reminiscent of the works of the master of the Bohemian Baroque, Johann Blasius Santini-Aichl , but the name of the architect has not been passed down. Cellars with Gothic portals have been preserved from the original medieval houses on this site . Renaissance vaults can still be seen on the ground floor .
In 1779 the building was converted into a theater, where Emperor Joseph II was happy to be a guest. After a fire in 1801, the palace was sold to the Bohemian estates , who settled the Bohemian Parliament here, which had previously met in Prague Castle . This makes the palace one of the oldest parliamentary buildings still in use. The facade was extended by a classical triangular gable . On it is an oval coat of arms with the Bohemian lion , crowned by the Wenceslas crown with two horns of plenty on the sides. The coat of arms is flanked by Apollo and Athena .
With the introduction of the elected state parliament in 1861, the meeting room had to be enlarged. A hall with 241 seats and a spectator gallery was created. In 1895 the building was electrified. Due to a lack of space, the surrounding buildings were used as offices.
After the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1919, the newly established Senate moved into the state parliament building and sat there until its dissolution in 1939. The Senate was not rebuilt in the post-war period, and various institutions and ministries used the building. With the federalization of the now socialist state, the Czech National Council moved in on January 1, 1969 . Since the statehood of the Czech Republic in 1993, there has been a bicameral parliament again, and the Thun Palace became the seat of the House of Representatives.
The Palais Thun, together with the surrounding parliament buildings, is a national cultural monument .
Web links
- Visiting hours, guided tours of the building. House of Representatives of the Czech Republic
- Palais Thun Tourism portal of the city of Prague
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c history of the building website of the House of Representatives
- ↑ Thunosvký palác Czech Heritage Office
Coordinates: 50 ° 5 ′ 21 ″ N , 14 ° 24 ′ 14 ″ E