Letohrádek Hvězda

Letohrádek Hvězda (Czech pronunciation: [ˈlɛtoɦraːdɛk ˈɦvjɛzda], translating into English as "Star Villa" or "Star Summer Palace") is a Renaissance villa in Prague in the Czech Republic. It is situated in the game reserve of the same name in the Liboc district of Prague 6, about 7 km (4 mi) west of Prague city centre.

The surrounding game reserve was founded in 1530 by King Ferdinand I. Twenty-five years later he commissioned his younger son Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria, to build the villa. The foundations were laid on 27 June 1555 by the Archduke alone, and construction of the villa was completed three years later. The villa is shaped as a six-pointed star, from which it and the game reserve acquire their shared name.

Since 1962, the area (which comprises the game reserve with the villa and the battlefield of the Battle of White Mountain, which took place nearby) has been protected as one national cultural monument. In the basement of the publicly accessible villa there is a model of the Battle of White Mountain. Various cultural and social events, exhibitions and concerts are organized in the villa.

Text adapted from “Letohrádek Hvězda” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Letohrádek Hvězda ranks #1,125 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #25 of the 200 mapped in Czech Republic. Founded 1555, it is older than 38% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 718 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,247 times in the last 60 days, more than 82% of the atlas. 19 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Prague, 7 km away. It is one of the 156 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Bohemia. See how Czech Republic compares in the castle statistics.

View on the interactive castle map →

Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗