The sculpted staircase
A double outdoor stair covered in monumental figures of gods battling giants — the finest Baroque sculpture in Prague outside the churches.
VitVit — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bjalek Michal — CC BY-SA 3.0 · ŠJů — CC BY 4.0 · Ștefan Jurcă from Paris, France — CC BY 2.0
Not on its own, but excellent as part of a full Troja day: the zoo in the morning with children, then the palace and garden in the afternoon. Half an hour each way by public transport.
In the warm season, yes: river boats from central Prague to a landing near the zoo and palace. The trip itself is enjoyable, especially with children, and takes about an hour.
After Troy: Count Šternberk wanted a classical villa with mythological subjects, and the name later attached to the whole area, so "Troja" is now the district's name.
An hour for palace and garden together. With the zoo and botanical garden it becomes a full day — start early at the zoo and finish at the palace in the late afternoon, when it quietens.
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Troja Palace is a red-and-white Baroque country house built between 1679 and 1691 for Count Šternberk, designed in the Italian manner with a clear intention: to be a Bohemian version of a Roman villa. It stands north of Prague in the Troja district, facing Prague Castle across the river, built as a summer reception house away from the crowded city. Its most famous feature is the double external staircase down to the garden, carved throughout with monumental sculpture showing the Olympian gods battling the giants — among the finest Baroque sculptural works in the country. Inside, the Grand Hall is covered wall and ceiling in frescoes glorifying the Habsburgs and their victory over the Ottomans, visually spectacular whatever one makes of the subject. The French garden in front is rigorously symmetrical: geometric beds, a hedge maze and terraces towards the river, and many find it lovelier than the palace itself. It is run today by the Prague City Gallery and hosts art exhibitions. The practical advantage: the zoo and the botanical garden are minutes away on foot — three sights in one day north of the city.
A double outdoor stair covered in monumental figures of gods battling giants — the finest Baroque sculpture in Prague outside the churches.
Walls and ceiling painted top to bottom — one of the most overwhelming rooms in the country.
Geometric beds, a hedge maze and terraces down to the river — complete quiet half an hour from the Old Town crush.
The palace colours against the green of the garden make the best architectural photograph outside central Prague.
U Trojského zámku 1, Prague 7 — Troja