Platýz – a castle, a luxury palace or an apartment block?
The luxury building of Platýz Palace dates back to 1350 and was built by Prince Ferdinand of Burgundy. Over the course of its existence, the palace has served various purposes including an inn for carters and their horses.
The dark past of this luxurious palace
Platýz has a dark past associated with it. Ferdinand of Burgundy had the son of the custodian executed here for running away from the Czech lands with a wealthy girl. He invited him to Prague under the pretext of a coronation. However, when the young man arrived, he discovered that instead of a coronation, his execution would be taking place. But Ferdinand of Burgundy did pay the price for this in the end as it is said that he could not stop seeing the eyes of the executed boy and that this drove him to madness.
Origin of the name Platýz
The name of this luxury palace dates back to 1586 when it was purchased by Jan Platejs who worked as privy council to Emperor Rudolph II. However, the palace enjoyed its greatest fame during the era of its next owners, the Sternberg family. They owned Platýz from 1672 until 1797. This was a golden age for the luxury palace, when balls were held, a fencing school was opened and the premises were used as a place for holding social functions.
Architectural transformations
Under Ferdinand of Burgundy, Platýz looked more like a castle. The Sternberg family had Baroque alterations performed and commissioned building of the passage which is used to this very day joining Národní třída and Uhelný trh. The next owner, Jakub Wimmer, had Baroque alterations performed in the basement for horses. In 1813, the palace was purchased by the knight František Daubek, who had it converted into an apartment block. It thus became the largest and oldest building of this type in Prague and gained a luxurious Empire style façade.
It was then purchased by the Slavia insurance bank and was converted again in 1938 - 1939. The palace has only been renovated twice since that time.
The palace is currently home to the luxury Café Platýz, designed by the architect Jan Vlček and you will find Galerie Platýz in the palace atrium, this having been moved here in 2012. The building is a protected cultural monument of the Czech Republic.
