Today, the Hrzán Palace in Prague, the alternative seat of the government, will be opened to the public

Prague – Today, people can visit the Hrzánský Palace in Hradčany, which the government uses for representative purposes and as an alternative residence. The normally inaccessible government building is opened to the public on the occasion of the state holiday of the Day of the Slavic Apostles Cyril and Methodius. On Monday, on the Day of the Burning of Master Jan Hus, the office will hold an open day at the Liechtenstein Palace in Kampa.

The Hrzánský Palace on Loretánská Street will open to the public today at 10:00 AM, with the last guided tour at 5:00 PM. Visitors will be able to see the representative salons, the Prime Minister's office, the Tapestry Hall, and the large dining room. Traditionally, the tour route will also include a terrace with views of Petřín and Prague's historic center.

People will also visit the studio of painter Jan Slavíček, which was reopened to the public earlier this May. The exhibition recalls the period when the artist lived here and created a number of his well-known Prague motifs. The atmosphere of the authentic space is complemented by vintage photographs loaned by the painter's daughter, Anna Slavíčková, as well as works from the government office's collections.

The palace is named after one of its former owners, Count Sigismund Valentine Hrzán of Harras. It stands on the site of an originally Gothic house, which, according to the earliest records, belonged to the Chapter of St. Vitus in the 14th century and later to the imperial doorkeeper. In the second half of the 14th century, the building was owned by the builder Petr Parléř, who, among other things, built Charles Bridge and participated in the construction of St. Vitus Cathedral. The new house, which became the foundation of the current Hrzánský Palace, was built in the 16th century and acquired its present form in the 18th century. At the end of the 19th century, before becoming the first Czechoslovak president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk briefly lived in the palace.

In the first half of the 20th century, a painting school and studio of Czech painter and graphic artist Ferdinand Engelmüller was established in Hrzánský Palace. For the representative purposes of government officials, the palace was radically renovated in the early 1950s.

Open days are part of a long-standing tradition of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, which opens buildings associated with the exercise of public administration to the public during significant state holidays.