Queen Anne's Summer Palace Prague

Most visitors to Prague Castle follow the crowds through the main courtyards, see St. Vitus Cathedral, walk the Golden Lane, and leave. Almost nobody turns north through the gate into the Royal Garden, where one of the finest Renaissance buildings north of the Alps stands in near-solitude. Queen Anne's Summer Palace, also known as the Belvedere, is a building that belongs more to Florence than to Bohemia — and on a quiet morning, you might have the colonnade to yourself.

We walk our guests here on our All Prague in One Day private tour, timing the visit so the light catches the arcade just right. The reaction is always the same: how did we not know this existed?

Why Ferdinand Built a Palace for His Wife

Emperor Ferdinand I commissioned the Summer Palace in 1538 as a gift for his wife, Queen Anne Jagiellon. The architect was the Italian Paolo della Stella, who designed the arcaded ground floor with its delicate relief panels. These 36 reliefs — carved directly into the soft sandstone — depict mythological scenes, hunting episodes, and botanical motifs that still hold remarkable detail after nearly five centuries.

Construction took decades. A fire interrupted the work in 1541, and the building was not completed until 1563 — by which time Queen Anne had been dead for sixteen years. She never set foot in her palace. The upper floor, with its distinctive copper ship-keel roof, was finished by Bonifác Wohlmut, a German architect who gave the building its unusual curved ceiling.

The ground-floor arcade wraps entirely around the building with no interruption — a feature borrowed from Italian loggia design but executed at a scale and refinement unprecedented in Central Europe at the time. Art historians consider it the purest Italian Renaissance structure outside Italy.

The Singing Fountain — Put Your Ear to the Bronze

Directly in front of the palace stands the Singing Fountain, cast in bronze between 1564 and 1568 by the bell-maker Tomáš Jaroš. On first glance, it looks like a standard Renaissance fountain — two tiers, decorative figures, water cascading from the upper basin.

The trick is acoustic. Stand close to the lower basin, lean your head just inside the rim, and listen. The water striking the bronze creates a faint, resonant tone — almost musical. The "singing" is subtle, not a dramatic effect, and it works best when the surrounding garden is quiet. Early morning or late afternoon, when tour groups thin out, gives you the best chance of hearing it clearly.

The fountain weighs roughly 1,700 kilograms and was cast from a single mould. The bronze surface has developed a deep green patina that photographs beautifully against the pale stone of the palace arcade behind it.

One practical detail: the fountain runs seasonally, typically from April through October, matching the garden's opening schedule. In winter, the water is shut off and the singing stops entirely.

The Royal Garden — A Renaissance Retreat

The Summer Palace sits at the eastern end of the Royal Garden (Královská zahrada), which stretches along the northern edge of Prague Castle. This garden is separate from the South Gardens and the Garden on the Ramparts — it has its own entrance from U Prašného mostu street, and many visitors never find it because it is not on the main castle circuit.

Ferdinand I established the garden in 1534, four years before the palace itself was begun. It was originally laid out as a Renaissance pleasure garden with exotic plants — including some of the first tulips in Central Europe, brought from Constantinople. The garden has been redesigned several times since, and today the layout mixes formal flowerbeds with mature trees and open lawns.

Several other buildings line the garden path. The Ball Game Hall (Míčovna), a striking Renaissance structure with heavy sgraffito decoration, sits roughly halfway along the route. It was used for indoor ball games — a predecessor of tennis — by the court. The Orangery, built to winter the garden's citrus trees, still stands at the western end.

The garden is open seasonally — generally April through October — and admission is free. Hours vary slightly by month, so check locally before visiting. The entrance from U Prašného mostu is a five-minute walk from the castle's northern gate, past the Powder Bridge. Most visitors approach from the second courtyard and exit through the Royal Garden, which makes for a natural downhill walk ending at the Belvedere.

On weekday mornings before 10:00, the garden is remarkably peaceful. The combination of mature chestnut trees, manicured hedges, and the palace framed at the far end creates one of the most photogenic compositions in the entire castle complex.

Architecture Worth a Closer Look

The Summer Palace rewards attention to detail. Walk slowly around the ground-floor arcade and study the relief panels. Scene by scene, they tell stories from Ovid and classical mythology, mixed with naturalistic depictions of animals and plants. Some panels show hunting scenes with dogs and deer. Others depict mythological battles. The carving quality varies — Della Stella's original work is finer than the sections completed by later craftsmen after the 1541 fire.

Look up at the roof. The copper ship-keel form is not merely decorative — it was an engineering solution to span the wide upper hall without internal columns. When the copper was new, it would have gleamed gold in the sunlight. Five centuries of oxidation have turned it to the soft green that now defines the building's silhouette.

The palace has served various purposes over the centuries. Rudolf II used it as an astronomical observatory. Swedish troops looted it in 1648. It was restored to something close to its original state in the 19th century and today hosts temporary art exhibitions organized by the Prague Castle Gallery.

Practical Details

Location: Northern edge of Prague Castle, inside the Royal Garden. Enter from U Prašného mostu street (near the Powder Bridge) or walk through the castle complex and exit north.

Admission: The Royal Garden and the exterior of the Summer Palace are free. Temporary exhibitions inside the palace may have a separate fee.

Opening hours: Seasonal, generally April through October. The garden typically opens at 10:00 and closes between 18:00 and 20:00 depending on the month. Check Prague Castle's official website for current schedules.

Prague Castle opening hours and ticket information are covered in detail in our complete Prague Castle guide.

Best time to visit: Weekday mornings. The garden is never as crowded as the main castle courtyards, but mornings offer the best light on the palace facade and the quietest conditions for hearing the Singing Fountain.

Experience It With a Private Guide

The Summer Palace and Royal Garden are part of the Prague Castle complex that most visitors walk right past. On our full-day private walking tour of Prague, we include the Belvedere when the garden is open — explaining the architecture, the fountain's acoustic trick, and the story of a palace built for a queen who never saw it finished.

Just your group, no strangers — we shape the route around what interests you, and the Royal Garden is one of those places where having context transforms a pleasant walk into something memorable.

For a different kind of Prague evening, the medieval dinner experience at a historic Prague tavern takes you from Renaissance elegance to candlelit feasting — a contrast that captures two very different sides of Bohemian history.

Browse all our private tours in Prague.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Queen Anne's Summer Palace free to visit?

The exterior and the Royal Garden are free. Temporary art exhibitions inside the palace may charge a separate admission fee, typically around 100-200 CZK (as of 2026). The garden itself — including the Singing Fountain — costs nothing.

When is the Royal Garden open?

Seasonally, from approximately April through October. Exact dates and hours vary each year. The garden typically opens at 10:00. It is closed entirely during winter months.

How do I find the Singing Fountain?

The fountain stands directly in front of the Summer Palace at the eastern end of the Royal Garden. Enter through the U Prašného mostu gate and walk the length of the garden, or approach from inside the castle complex through the northern gate.

Is the Summer Palace part of the Prague Castle ticket?

No. The Royal Garden and Summer Palace are in a separate area accessible through their own entrance. You do not need a Prague Castle circuit ticket to visit. The garden is free, and the palace operates independently when exhibitions are running.

Queen Anne's Summer Palace — Renaissance Beauty at Prague Castle