Buquoyský palác (Praha 1) Palace

Buquoy Palace, located on Celetná 562 / 20 and Fruit Market 562 / 7, is a classic house in Old Town in Prague 1. Since 1964 it has been protected as a semi-monetary object within the Karolina complex.

The building has its roots in the Gothic epic, which was owned by Zdeněk Kostka z Postupic. The construction was rebuilt during the Renaissance period. At the beginning of the 17th century it became the property of Vorsil Benigné, wife of Bohuslav of Michalovice, one of later executed leaders of the Czech State Uprising. After the uprising was suppressed, the building was confiscated and plundered by the army. In 1627 it was sold to Countess Maria Magdalena Buquoy, widow of General Karl Buquoy. Under the possession of the Buquoys, the house acquired a Baroque character and remained in their possession until 1754.

It was owned by Charles University since 1762. In 1773 the architect Antonín Prachner made extensive modifications, including the acquisition of today's classical form of the facade. The palace was housed by law and medical professors. Since 1882, the Royal Czech Society of Teachers, the predecessor of today's Academy of Sciences, was briefly located here. Since 1960, the Faculty of Education and Journalism of Charles University has resigned from the building, which was replaced by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Publications in 1968. In 1972, the faculty was renamed the Faculty of Journalism of the Charles University and transformed in the spirit of normalisation.

Architecturally, it is a four-wing three-way object oriented around an extended inner courtyard. The original Gothic cellar is preserved and the Gothic wall reaches the third floor. The ground floor rooms and the valuable beam ceiling in one of the second floor rooms come from the Renaissance era. The entry portal in Celetná Street is late Renaissance and carries a plate with the inscription "Sibi et Posteris" (Myself and his descendants) with the year 1773, which he had completed here. The main facade to Celetná has six axes, the facade to the Fruit Market is wider with eight axes. Both facades are characterized by identical stucco decoration and window details from the adjustment period around 1773.

From 1965 to 1971, modern interior modifications were carried out according to the Jaroslav Fragner project. In recent years, namely between 2020 and 2022, a revitalisation of the Karolina complex, including the Buquoy Palace, has taken place.