Spanish Hall

The magnificent Spanish Hall is situated in the northern part of the New Royal Palace at the 2nd courtyard of the Prague Castle. It was designed by the Italian architect G. M. Filippi to store the sculptural collection of the art-loving emperor Rudolf II. and was built between 1602 and 1606. Today, the Spanish Hall is used to host state ceremonies, presidential banquets and concert performances.

The current designation "Spanish" was possibly derived from the hall's situation above the royal stables which accommodated some rare species of Spanish horses. Another theory refers to the fact that the idea of building special spaces for storing and exhibiting arts was imported to Prague from Spain thus explaining the reason for which the original name, "The New Hall," was later changed for "The New Spanish Hall."

The stucco ceiling of the Spanish Hall was originally a cassette ceiling with painted decorations and there were four columns situated in themiddle of the room. During the baroque period, the hall was rebuilt by Kilian Ignac Dienzenhofer who is responsible for the nowadays appearance of the ceiling. Another reconstruction took place in 1836 for the occasion of the coronation of Ferdinand V as Czech king, the last extensive modifications were done in relation to the prepared (and never accomplished) coronation of the emperor Franz Joseph in the 1860s. As a result, the hall boasts a combination of two types of decorations: while the 17th-century style is preserved on the side walls of the hall and the 19th-century modifications are apparent on the front walls, the ceiling is a splendid  combination of the two.