The Wallenstein Garden is an inseparable part of the Palace of the same name, which was built by Albrecht of Valdštejn in the years 1623-1629, based on design by Italian arch. Andrea Spezza, in co-operation with arch. Giovanni Pieroni. Pieroni, after death of Andrea Spezza, became the regular advisor for Valdštejn’s following building activities. Spezza might have designed disposition plan of the large palace garden as well. Currently, it can be visited during opening hour. It is passable; you may enter there from the Wallenstein Square through the palace courtyard, from gate in Letenská Street and from underground station of A route – Malostranská. One of the most attractive components of the large and perfectly preserved garden is the monumental sala terrena. In the functional point of view, it is continuation of the palace residential areas and thus it is not separate architecture. It was completed in 1627 based on design by arch. Giovanni Pieroni and it was given very rich artistic decoration. It has been a tradition that concerts and theatre plays are performed there in summer evening time, then the auditorium is situated in the garden. A way, which leads from the garden centre to the sala terrena is lined with four pairs of sculptures, pieces by Adrian de Vries from 1624-1626, who worked in Prague already in Rudolf’s era. The sculptures are copies from the beginning of the 20th century, because the originals were taken by the Swedish in 1648 as the war trophies and nowadays they have been placed in the royal palace in Drottingholm. High boundary wall along the Letenská Street is covered with artificial dripstones of lime putty. There is a large bird-house below tops of mighty chestnuts. In the southern part of the garden there is a big pool, where several fish species of various sizes swim in shallow water. In the middle of the pool there is a round island where a sculpture of the Greek mythology hero, Hercules, is standing on a stone pedestal. He is menacingly holding a big club in his right hand, with which he is going to hit a dragon at his feet. Around the island there are symmetrically placed sculptures of four water nymphs. And the last thing to say is that currently the Wallenstein Palace has been a seat of the Senate of the Czech Republic.
