Troja Zamek

By Jennifer Page

As you wind your way up the Troja neighborhood hills, the landscape slowly changes from the close, city streets where you just came from to an almost Mediterranean-looking setting.  At the very top, you get off the bus and to your left is one of the most beautiful houses in Prague.  Troja Chateau (Zamek) was designed “for the influential Sternberg family in the late 1600’s.”  Its rust and white baroque exterior is distinctive in a city of the heavy, stone baroque style most are used to seeing.  One of the best features included in the interior tour are the frescoes that adorn every room, especially the Grand Hall, “which depicts the victories of the Habsburg Emperor Leopold I over the Turks, and covers every square inch of the room.”  The paintings are beautiful and far overshadow the actual artwork hanging on the walls. The gardens are the next main attraction. These gardens were designed “after the French-style formal gardens of the day, and were the first of their kind in Bohemia, starting a trend of immaculately shaped gardens that can still be seen elsewhere in Prague today.” It is fun to just walk around the exterior of the house and examine all of the fountains and manicured, labyrinth-like paths that cover the grounds. Elaborate staircases are at the front and back of the house and are both covered with huge statues of fabled heroes. The walls surrounding the grounds are covered with huge vases that are over four feet tall. Above the grounds is a vineyard, and you can taste and buy the local wine in the basement of Troja Zamek.  Historical Information was taken from Rough Guides Directions: Prague by Rob Humphreys. Published April 2005 by Rough Guides Ltd. In London.