Basic information
A Renaissance palace, which was rebuilt from two Gothic stone burgher houses and extended into the courtyard in the second half of the 16th century. The Baroque reconstruction work gave the palace the character of a prestigious seat with a staircase of a – so to say – chateau type. The frontage of the palace is decorated with openwork entablature above the windows and the entrance portal with atlantes. There are valuable interiors in the neo-Rococo style. An older house which stood on the site of the Petráš palace was heavily damaged during the great fire of the city in 1709. After the Free Lady of Petráš Anna Marie had bought the house, it was rebuilt in the Baroque style in the years 1725-1734. The Petráš palace has become famous not only for its architectural appearance and interior decor but also for the historical initiative of the son of Anna Marie Petráš – Josef. In 1746 he founded the first learned society within the territory of the Austrian monarchy, called Societas incognitorum, right in the Petráš palace. In 1875, when the house was owned by Jan and Lucie Ottahal, the neo-Rococo interiors, which have been preserved up to this day, were created.