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Prvni nadvori Review

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První nádvorí

First Courtyard

Category: Squares
Location: Prazský Hrad

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Fodor's Review:

The main entrance to Prague Castle from Hradcanské námestí is a little disappointing. After a formal renovation, many of the grander touches from the earlier years were removed. Going through the wrought-iron gate, guarded at ground level by Czech soldiers and from above by the ferocious Battling Titans (a copy of Ignaz Platzer's original 18th-century work), you enter this courtyard, built on the site of old moats and gates that once separated the castle from the surrounding buildings and thus protected the vulnerable western flank. The courtyard is one of the more recent additions to the castle, designed by Maria Theresa's court architect, Nicolò Pacassi, in the 1760s. Today it forms part of the presidential office complex. Pacassi's reconstruction was intended to unify the eclectic collection of buildings that made up the castle, but the effect of his work is somewhat flat.

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