Troja Palace is a Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 palace located in Troja, Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

's north-west borough (Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

). It was built for the Counts of Sternberg from 1679 to 1691. The palace is owned by the city of Prague and hosts the 19th century Czech art collections of the City Gallery.

Construction

The palace's design has been influenced by French and Italian architecture and is mostly the work of French architect Jean Baptiste Mathey

Jean Baptiste Mathey

Jean Baptiste Mathey was a French architect and painter born in Dijon.Between 1675 and 1694 Mathey enjoyed a remarkable career in which his French planning and devotion to classical rationality were a conscious artistic challenge to established taste.Mathey was commissioned by the Archbishop of...

. The latter also built the palais Buquoy in Prague, currently the French embassy. Prior to Mathey, Domenico Orsi worked on the castle. Silvestro Carlone was the Master Builder

Master Builder

Master Builder can refer to:* Master builder, also "master mason", a central figure leading construction projects in pre-modern times .* The Master Builder, a play by Henrik Ibsen....

.

Gardens

The stairs between the palace and the gardens are the work of two sculptors from Dresden: Johann Georg and Paul Heermann. They sculpted statues representing the fight of Gods and giants. The terrace

Terrace (building)

A terrace is an outdoor, occupiable extension of a building above ground level. Although its physical characteristics may vary to a great degree, a terrace will generally be larger than a balcony and will have an "open-top" facing the sky...

 is decorated with a rare collection of vases made by Bombelli, also active in Slavkov u Brna

Slavkov u Brna

Slavkov u Brna is a country town east of Brno in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Population: 5,900. The town is widely known for giving its name to the Battle of Austerlitz which actually took place several kilometres to the west of the town....

, at Slavkov-Austerlitz castle (close to Brno).

Decoration

The palace's main rooms is decorated with a magnificent baroque Habsburg's apotheosis. Many mythological elements are presented in this trompe-l'œil decoration. It was realised by the brothers Abraham and Isaac Godyn, painters from Anvers who arrived at the castle in 1690. Francesco Marchetti and his son Giovanni realised most of the other paintings in the castle.

Recent history

The palace was bought in 1922 by the Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

n state, which started a restoration in the seventies. Since this period the palace has been hosting an exhibition of Czech paintings of the 19th century: Josef Cermak, Václav Brožík

Václav Brožík

Václav Brožík was a Czech academic painter.Since 1868 he studied at the Academy of Arts in Prague, Dresden, and Munich. In 1879 he went on study journey to the Netherlands....

, Julius Marak, Antonin Chittussi

Antonin Chittussi

Antonin Chittussi was a Czech Impressionist landscape painter.He was born in Ronov nad Doubravou to a Czech mother and a father of Italian descent. He was fascinated by the landscape of South Bohemia and of the Bohemian and Moravian Highlands...

, Jan Preisler, Mikoláš Aleš

Mikoláš Aleš

Mikoláš Aleš , was a Czech painter.-Biography:Aleš was born in Mirotice near Písek, into a relatively rich family that was in debt at the time. He was taught history by his brother František until the latter's death in 1865; he expressed interest in painting at an early age...

.