Clan Rising
Letohrádek Hvězda today

Czechia · Still standing

Letohrádek Hvězda

Letohrádek Hvězda is a small Renaissance summer villa in the Liboc game reserve of Prague, built 1555–1558 and named for its six-pointed star plan. The compact, symmetrical building sits within parkland and today is protected as a national cultural monument and used for exhibitions and events.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

First raised

1555

Its prime

1558

Today

Still standing

As it stood in 1558

What Letohrádek Hvězda looked like in its prime.

Compact, three-storey masonry villa laid out as a six-pointed star: a central polygonal block with six short projecting wings forming star points. Smooth pale rendered walls punctuated by small, regularly spaced rectangular windows fitted with red-and-white painted shutters. Very steep, many-faceted dark metal roof rising to a single golden ball finial with small dormer openings set into the slopes. Sits low within a cleared glade of park trees and trimmed hedges with a straight gravel approach.

Its story

The story of Letohrádek Hvězda.

King Ferdinand I founded the game reserve at Liboc in 1530, and twenty-five years later commissioned his younger son Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria, to build a villa within it. The Archduke alone laid the foundations on 27 June 1555, and construction finished three years later. The building is shaped as a six-pointed star, from which villa and reserve take their shared name, Hvězda.

The compact Renaissance villa still stands in its game reserve about 7 km west of Prague's centre, protected today as a national cultural monument and used for exhibitions and events.

Step inside

6 places to explore in 1558.

The record describes 6 distinct spots at Letohrádek Hvězda, including 1 interior: basement chamber under the central block. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.

Main approach from the axial lawnSlightly elevated park viewpoint showing star planOne projecting star-wing façadeRoof slope and finialBasement chamber under the central blockTree-lined game reserve path

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Nearby

Landmarks within reach of Letohrádek Hvězda.

Great Strahov Stadium, CzechiaStadiumGreat Strahov Stadium4 km awayPetřín Lookout Tower, CzechiaTowerPetřín Lookout Tower5 km awaySt. Vitus Cathedral, CzechiaCathedralSt. Vitus Cathedral5 km away

Questions about Letohrádek Hvězda

What is the history of Letohrádek Hvězda?

Letohrádek Hvězda was created in the 16th century as a Renaissance summer villa in the Liboc game reserve. King Ferdinand I founded the reserve in 1530 and commissioned his son Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria, to build the villa in 1555. It was later plundered by Swedish troops in 1648 and reconstructed in 1948–51.

What is inside Letohrádek Hvězda?

Inside Letohrádek Hvězda are exhibition spaces, a basement chamber with a model of the Battle of White Mountain, and rooms with historic architectural features. The ground floor has a stucco-decorated ceiling divided into 334 panels, while the first floor contains five guest chambers with fireplaces. The second floor formerly held a banqueting hall with its original tiled floor.

Who owns Letohrádek Hvězda now?

Letohrádek Hvězda is owned by the Czech Republic. It has the heritage designation of part of a national cultural heritage site in the Czech Republic. The building is used for exhibitions, concerts, conferences and social events, while the national cultural monument designation has applied since 1962.

Why was Letohrádek Hvězda built, and what was it used for?

Letohrádek Hvězda was built as a summer villa for entertainment and rest during hunts in the Liboc game reserve. Its use later changed substantially: it served as a gunpowder store from 1785 to 1874, and it has since accommodated museums, exhibitions and cultural events. It is now used for exhibitions and events.

Where is Letohrádek Hvězda?

Letohrádek Hvězda stands in the Liboc game reserve, about 7 km west of Prague city centre. It is in Liboc, in Prague 6, within the parkland of the reserve. The villa and the surrounding reserve share the name Hvězda, which comes from the building’s six-pointed star plan.

When was Letohrádek Hvězda built?

Letohrádek Hvězda was built in the 16th century, beginning on 27 June 1555 and finishing three years later. The site record gives 1555–1558 for its construction, while the architectural description dates it to 1555–56. It is therefore a mid-16th-century Renaissance villa.

Was Letohrádek Hvězda ever attacked or besieged?

Letohrádek Hvězda was plundered by Swedish troops in 1648 during the closing phase of the Thirty Years’ War. The attackers even removed its copper roof. In 1757, Prussian forces besieging Prague killed almost all the game in the reserve, although the supplied account does not say that they captured or damaged the villa itself.

What did Letohrádek Hvězda look like in its prime?

Letohrádek Hvězda is a compact, intact, three-storey Renaissance masonry villa arranged as a six-pointed star. Its pale rendered walls have small rectangular windows with red-and-white shutters, beneath a steep many-faceted dark metal roof. The roof rises to a single golden ball finial, with small dormers on the slopes, and the building stands in a cleared park glade.

Is Letohrádek Hvězda still standing or is it a ruin?

Letohrádek Hvězda is still standing and is described as intact rather than a ruin. It underwent a complete reconstruction in 1948–51 under the architect Pavel Janák, followed by further reconstruction in the 1990s. The later work restored a copper roof, replacing the earlier tiled roof, while the building retained its lowered roof form.

Who built Letohrádek Hvězda?

Letohrádek Hvězda was commissioned by Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria, who laid its foundation stone on 27 June 1555. Construction was begun by Giovanni Battista Aostalli and Giovanni Lucchese, and continued by Hans Tirol and Bonifác Wolmut. The supplied material does not identify one sole architect for the completed villa.

Can you visit Letohrádek Hvězda?

Letohrádek Hvězda can be visited because the villa is publicly accessible. Its present use includes exhibitions, concerts, conferences and social events. A model of the Battle of White Mountain is displayed in the basement, and the building is protected as a national cultural monument.

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