In 1679, Count Václav Vojtech of Šternberk commissioned a grand, rural mansion that now rests on the outskirts of Prague. The Troja Château was designed by painter-turned-architect Jean-Baptiste Mathey, who was strongly influenced by the Baroque. The house connects to its landscaped gardens by way of a two-winged, monumental staircase that is the focus of the façade. (...)
In 1679, Count Václav Vojtech of Šternberk commissioned a grand, rural mansion that now rests on the outskirts of Prague. The Troja Château was designed by painter-turned-architect Jean-Baptiste Mathey, who was strongly influenced by the Baroque. The house connects to its landscaped gardens by way of a two-winged, monumental staircase that is the focus of the façade. Since there was no sculptor in Prague trained in classical styles at the time, Georg Heermann was brought over from Dresden to carve the figures for the staircase. Count Šternberk had a penchant for mythology, so he asked Heermann to recreate a famous scene from Greek and Roman lore: the epic battle between the Olympian gods and their Titan relations. Heermann transformed the space between the wings of the staircase into the gloomy pit of Tartarus, where the defeated Titans were cast. Jupiter and Minerva observe their fallen foes from the landing above while other Olympians line the balustrades. This elaborate staircase and the rest of the property were given to the Czech state in 1922 by the last private owner, Alois Svoboda.
