King's Court (Prague)
The King's Court (Králův dvůr) was a residence of Bohemian rulers in the Old Town of Prague, on the site of today's Municipal House.[1] The Royal Route to Prague Castle started here.[2]*
History
King Wenceslas IV had the King's Court built around 1380.[1] According to the Prague 1 district, he began building it because he no longer liked his residence at Prague Castle.[2] The Heritage Catalogue of the National Heritage Institute states that the court stood next to the Old Town gate from the 1370s and that in 1447 and 1449 the gate was referred to in sources as the royal tower.[3] Six Bohemian rulers resided at the court: Wenceslas IV, Sigismund of Luxembourg, Albert II of Habsburg, Ladislaus the Posthumous, George of Poděbrady and Vladislaus Jagiellon. Vladislaus Jagiellon moved the royal seat back to Prague Castle.[1] The peace embassy of King George of Poděbrady set out from the court.[2] From 1475 the New Tower, today's Powder Tower, was built next to the court.[2] According to Prague City Tourism, the tower was entered by a gallery from the King's Court until a new entrance with a staircase was built in 1592.[4]
Later history
After the accession of the Habsburgs the court lost its importance. In the 17th century it housed the archbishop's seminary, which after a fire in 1689 was replaced by a new complex with the Church of St Adalbert. In 1776 the building was converted into barracks and later into a cadet school.[1] The Municipal House was built on the site of the former King's Court in 1906–1911.[5] Alois Jirásek wrote about the King's Court in his unfinished novel The Hussite King.[2]
Sources
* The sources are collected and the preliminary text of this entry is drafted with artificial intelligence, on the instruction of the editorial staff; the entry has not yet been verified by an editor — report a mistake.