The old royal palace was built in the middle of the 12th century. Until the second half of the 16th century, the palace was the residence of the rulers of Bohemia. After the Habsburgs built a new palace for themselves, the old one was given to house government offices.
In 1135, Prague, the capital of Bohemia, began to be rebuilt on the model of Latin cities. Since the reign of Prince St Wenceslas (10th century), there was a three-storey princely palace in the Prague Kremlin, the architectural appearance of which is not exactly known to us. In the 11th century it was replaced by a Romanesque palace, the southern wall of which was part of the fortifications. The Princely Palace together with the Basilica of the Virgin Mary, St. Vitus, Wenceslas and Vojtech, as well as the Basilica of St. Jiří (George), constituted the central ensemble of stone buildings of the Kremlin as the political and religious centre of the Přeševslović state.
In the half of the 13th century, reconstruction in the early Gothic style began. In the western part there was a separate residential part, which, however, was destroyed by fire in 1303. The first mention of the coronation of a Czech king in the Kremlin (Přemysl Otakar II, in 1261) and the existence of the position of Kremlin gofmister, a royal official at the head of the court.
Of most interest here is the Wladyslaw Hall, a large room built by decree of King Wladyslaw of Jagiellonia around 1500. Here feasts and knights' tournaments were organised, with knights entering the hall directly on horseback, climbing the Horsemen's Staircase, which had no steps. Later, state-level receptions and banquets were held here.
Nearby are the premises of the Czech Chancellery - the office of the Czech viceroys. A museum exhibition dedicated to the construction of Prague Castle is located here.
In the underground of the palace, the vaulted rooms of the ground floor of the Romanesque palace, built in 1135, have survived to this day. In its eastern part there was a chamber under the chapel of All Saints. With the consecration of the chapel in 1185, the Romanesque reconstruction of the palace was completed.
The Chapel of All Saints was built in the second half of the 16th century. Its main treasure is the relics of St. Prokop, one of the most revered Czech saints.
In the lower part of the Old Royal Palace, there is an exhibition displaying archaeological finds, objects from the royal chambers, ancient jewellery, manuscripts and books.
