The Alteration of Prague Castle

Joze Plecnik took the medieval Prague Castle, which was in need of some tender loving care, and turned it into the public friendly castle it is today. Tomas Masaryk requested the genius of his friend Joze Plecnik, and made him chief architect. Plecnik added unusual yet stately monuments to the repaved courtyards, making the area harmonious for visitors and pedestrians. The defensive walls of the castle were magically turned into the Paradise Garden, entered through the mythical Bull Staircase, a splendid place full of massive urns, climbing ivy, small pyramids, gazebos, and whimsical views. The garden and the courtyards showcase these odd monuments, material objects that did not appear in the Prague Castle until the 1920s, that somehow blend perfectly with the old architectural elements. Under the request of Masaryk, Plecnik also designed a presidential apartment, complete with an oval lift located inside a vaulted cylinder composed of bricks and new staterooms, one unique room with abstract Doric columns, the designs were to reflect and celebrate the new independence and democracy of the first Czechoslovak Republic. Tomas Masaryk famously said it is possible to create a great historical monument of the Castle and its surroundings and I cannot see anyone who would be able to carry out this historical task other than you. Masaryk was correct on all levels, as Joze Plecnick had an extraordinary talent of combining the old and the new in perfect harmony in architecture and landscape design.

Prague Castle Praha 1, Hradčany