Waldstein Riding School

The National Gallery Prague has been renting the Waldstein Riding School from the Senate Chancellery since 1996 and has held numerous successful international exhibitions over the years.

The early Baroque Waldstein Riding School, located in the garden of the palace complex, was built by Albrecht von Waldstein according to architectural designs by the Italian architects Andrea Spezza and Nicolo Sebregondi. The riding school fulfilled its original purpose until the end of the 19th century. After World War I, the Waldstein family rented the building to the Mladá Boleslav-based car factory Lauren & Klement. Also after World War II, the riding school was rented to various businesses in the car industry. In the 1950s, it was decided that the riding school will be used as an exhibition space and the National Gallery Prague started to use it. In 2000, a demanding reconstruction was completed and the Waldstein Riding School was opened to the general public. In the past, visitors could see, for example, retrospective exhibitions of artworks by Max Švabinský and František Skála, or exhibitions dedicated to world-famous emperors, such as Charles IV or Ferdinand II.