Queen Anna’s Summerhouse

Prague Castle

The Habsburg king Ferdinand I built the summerhouse for his wife Anna Jagiellon in the eastern part of the Royal Garden. The structure is now considered to be the most beautiful and the purest Renaissance building outside Italy. It was designed by the Italian master Paolo della Stella in 1538 and it was strongly influenced by the Italian Renaissance. When the Prague Castle suffered a devastating fire three years later, the construction was interrupted and all the funds had to be invested into the reparation of the damages. In the years 1548 to 1552, the construction continued again under guidance of Paolo della Stella who completed the ground floor with arcades. The first floor was built in the years 1557–1563 by B. Wohlmut who also constructed the copper roof shaped as an upside-down keel. The king Ferdinand died the same year the summerhouse was completed, and so he did not enjoy it much, but the building was used a lot by his successors, especially the Habsburg emperor Rudolph II, who placed a part of his art collection here and who also used the palace as an astronomical observatory. In 1648, the richly furnished summerhouse was looted by the Swedes. The summerhouse was thoroughly reconstructed in the late 20th century and is now used as an exhibition hall.

Opening Times

Queen Anna’s Summerhouse is only open during exhibitions.