The Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic — Thun Palace

The Chamber of Deputies is open to all citizens of the Czech Republic as well as foreign visitors. Come and personally look at the deliberations of the Chamber of Deputies in the Assembly Hall or at the meeting of any of the Chamber’s committees. You can also arrange a guided tour of the historic seat of the Chamber of Deputies.

The excursion

The excursion starts with the screening of a short film on the activities of the Chamber of Deputies, it is followed by a guided tour of major areas. The tour is free and is accompanied with expert commentary, focusing on the functions and activities of the Chamber of Deputies, the Czech parliamentary history and the architecture and history of the buildings. The total duration is approximately 90 minutes. Tours are organized always on weekdays, between 9:00 and 14:30 o’clock. The maximum number of persons per tour, including guides, is 30. Larger groups have to be divided for safety reasons and to ensure the quality of the guide commentary.
It is recommended to book excursions at least two months in advance phone number +420 257 174 117.

More info here

history

Thun Palace stands on a site that has been continuously inhabited since the ninth century. Merchants once travelled through the area from a ford across the Vltava, located roughly where Mánes Bridge stands today. Some settled there, giving rise to one of Prague’s oldest communities. Its importance is reflected in the fact that as many as ten churches once stood on Sněmovní Street and in the surrounding area. Although the street itself was once known as Pětikostelní, or Five Churches Street, it did not actually contain five churches. The name originated as a Czech rendering of the German surname of Jan Bernard Fünfkirchen, the owner of house No 170/III. In the eighteenth century, the house was inherited by Josef Dobner, a carpenter and burgher of Lesser Town. His son, the scholar Gelasius Dobner, was born there in 1719.

There were, in fact, three churches on what is now Sněmovní Street. The first, the Church of St Michael (mentioned in 1354), stood at the northern end of the street, where a drain carried rainwater from the castle moat. This drain probably gave rise to the legend of an underground passage from Prague Castle, supposedly used by Wenceslas, the future saint, to attend church services in secret. The church was demolished around 1700. The second church, dedicated to St Andrew, stood a little further south. First mentioned in 1365, it probably disappeared during the Hussite Wars. The third, the Church of St Martin, stood opposite Thunovská Street. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, when the land was already in the possession of the Thun family, it was removed with the intention of building a new, larger church.

Other settlements in what later became Lesser Town included Obora, Nebovidy, Újezd and Trávník, but the settlement around Sněmovní Street formed the core of the community beneath Prague Castle. It declined in importance after the construction of Judith Bridge in the 1170s, when the main route shifted southwards to what is now Mostecká Street and continued across Lesser Town Square.

History of the palace

The extensive palace complex, with its two courtyards, stands on the site of five Gothic houses, remains of which have been preserved in its cellars. Three of these houses were combined in 1490, when Jan of Roupov acquired them and converted them into a substantial residence known as Roupov House. Later owners included members of the Smiřický and Waldstein families.

Countess Markéta Anna Thun purchased the house in 1650 and acquired a second property twelve years later.

In 1694, Count Maximilian Thun bought a third house. The following year, he began rebuilding the site, with the existing houses demolished to their foundations and replaced by a new palace. The architect remains unknown, although it could have been Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel. Construction continued into the first quarter of the eighteenth century. Alongside its numerous rooms and corridors, the palace contained a large hall, now the assembly hall of the Chamber of Deputies.

In 1779, Count Jan Josef František Thun established a theatre in the main hall and leased it to the company of Pasquale Bondini, an enthusiastic promoter of Mozart’s operas. During his first visit to Prague in 1787, Mozart himself stayed in another nearby Thun palace, now the British Embassy. The theatre was also visited by Emperor Joseph II.

In 1794, negligence on the part of the actors led to a fire breaking out, and the Thun family, who had already followed the imperial court to Vienna, decided against investing in the palace any further.

In 1801, Countess Anna Marie Thun, representing the minor heirs, sold the palace to the Bohemian Estates. They immediately began remodelling it in the Neoclassical style for use by the Bohemian Diet. Between 1801 and 1802, it also housed the Governor’s Office. The ground-floor rooms were converted into staff accommodation, while offices were established on the first and second floors. The façade on Sněmovní Street was extended to more than 90 metres, retaining only two of its original portals. Its upper section was crowned with a triangular pediment bearing a quotation from Cicero: Salus rei publicae suprema lex esto, meaning “Let the welfare of the state be the highest law.” The stucco decoration in the pediment depicts the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bohemia, cornucopias, and figures of Pallas Athena, representing knowledge, and Apollo, representing the arts.

Further extensive alterations in 1861 gave the assembly hall its present appearance and décor.

In 1903, a covered bridge was built across Thunovská Street, linking Thun Palace with Sternberg Palace and Smiřický Palace.

On 14 November 1918, the palace hosted the first session of the National Assembly. The Czechoslovak state was declared a republic, the Habsburgs were deposed from the Bohemian throne, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk was elected president and Karel Kramář became prime minister.

On 29 February 1920, the National Assembly adopted the Constitution of the Czechoslovak Republic there.

From 1919 to 1938, the palace housed the Senate of the National Assembly, while Parliament met at the Rudolfinum.

The building underwent substantial alterations between 1936 and 1940 to accommodate the National Assembly. During this period, a plaque by Ladislav Šaloun, with a gilded inscription commemorating the establishment of the republic on 14 November 1918, was installed on the façade.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the palace housed various ministries, a party school and other institutions, which led to the further deterioration of the building.

From 1968 to 1992, it was occupied by the Czech National Council. Another major renovation took place between 1985 and 1989, when new interior decoration was added, much of it unfortunately reflecting the tastes of the regime at the time.

The most recent alterations followed 1 January 1993, when the palace became the seat of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.

Interior of the palace

Beyond the reception area of the Chamber of Deputies, visitors can see into the remodelled northern atrium, at the centre of which stands a lion sculpture by Stanislav Hanzík entitled Struggle. Behind it is a stone wall, decorated with repeating motifs of the Bohemian lion and the St Wenceslas eagle, by the same artist.

Upstairs, a lobby used for temporary exhibitions leads to the assembly hall, which has retained its late Neoclassical appearance since 1861. Its interior features richly gilded decoration and female half-figures supporting the stucco ceiling. The ceiling differs substantially from its original appearance. The fire of 1794 completely destroyed the original ceiling fresco, The Siege of Troy, by the Viennese painter Johann Michael Rottmayr. Galleries face each other at the two shorter ends of the hall: one, with seating for 80, is reserved for the public; the other is for journalists. Inkwells could still be seen on the deputies’ desks until 1985 but have since been replaced by electronic voting equipment. Beyond the lobby is a corridor displaying Václav Brožík’s painting The Election of George of Poděbrady as King of Bohemia. This leads to a meeting room containing Cyril Bouda’s tapestry Musical Prague, followed by a room used for state ceremonies, where two further tapestries by Alexandra Rudová are on display. A terrace opening off this room overlooks Prague Castle.

One floor below, another corridor displays historic state documents. Its cases contain facsimiles of important documents from Czech history, including the Golden Bull of Sicily, the founding charter of Charles University, the patent abolishing serfdom and the act proclaiming the Czechoslovak state, together with several volumes of the Bohemian Land Registers.

Many of the palace’s rooms were once decorated with stucco, but this now survives in only two rooms in its southwestern section, one of which is known as the Mirror Hall. The stucco is probably by Giovanni Palliardi. Both rooms are used by the president of the Chamber of Deputies.

The palace forms part of the complex housing the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, and is designated a national cultural monument.

The Thun-Hohenstein family

The Thun-Hohenstein family originated in South Tyrol and came to Bohemia in the service of the Habsburgs during the Bohemian Revolt. Some members of the family later played a significant role in the development of Czech science and culture. Franz Anton I (1786–1873), for example, supported the establishment of libraries and vocational schools. His brother Joseph Mathias studied Czech language and literature and was a member of the Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences. His uncle Leopold Leo was one of the founders of the Matice česká publishing house and served on the committee of the Museum of the Kingdom of Bohemia.

The Thuns were among the leading members of the Bohemian aristocracy who championed the historical rights of the Czech lands, and many held senior government positions. They were related by marriage to the Wratislaw of Mitrovice, Schwarzenberg and Chotek families, among others. At one time, the family owned five palaces in Prague.