The stately baroque Šternberg Palace (ngprague.cz) dates from the turn of the 18th century and originally served as a base for one of Bohemia’s most powerful noble families. It is now home to the National Gallery’s collection of European art from ancient Greece and Rome up to the 18th century, including works by Goya and Rembrandt.
The museum’s treasures include a rare collection of Russian Christian icons, and early Italian paintings from the 14th and 15th centuries that formerly belonged to Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Pride of the gallery is the glowing Feast of the Rosary by Albrecht Dürer, an artist better known for his engravings. Painted in Venice in 1505 as an altarpiece for the church of San Bartolomeo, it was brought to Prague by Rudolf II; in the background, beneath the tree on the right, is the figure of the artist himself.
The dealbreaker might be the palace’s hidden baroque garden (open from May to September) at the back.
