Hradčanské náměstí with the statue of T. G. Masaryk that is
situated in front of the Matyáš Gate, main entrance in the Prague
Castle was constituted in the 14 century, when Hradčany were established
as a dependent town and when also appeared the new location
of the surrounding seats. The rise of t h e meaning of this place became
in the 16 century, mainly in the period after 1541 (the Big Fire of the
Malá Strana and Hradčany), when the Emperor Rudolf I I (1576-1611)
chose the Prague Castle as his permanent residence and in 1598 when
Hradčany were pronounced a Royal Town.
At present the Hradčanské náměstí represents a picturesque area, atrium of the Prague Castle surrounded
by lot of remarkable Renaissance and baroque houses, palaces with little park and the Marian Plague Collum in the middle.
Remarkable buildings belong the imposing Swarzenberg Palace, Toscana and Martinic Palaces, Archbishops Pakacem and
the Sternberg Palace.