This is the Černin Palace. It is the longest Baroque building in Prague; 150 Metres across. It resides directly across from the Loreta Church Complex in the Castle district of Prague.
It is currently the Seat of Residence for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Back in the mid 17th Century, Count Humprecht Jan Černin of Chudenice, the imperial delegate in Venice, got the idea to build a monumental residence in Prague. And that he did! He employed architect Francesco Caratti, and the building was started in 1669.(Wonder where they got all their money to build these magnificent buildings?...ever wonder that?)
In 1742 , the French and Bavarian armies encircled Prague during the War of Austrian Succession and they occupied this palace. They made it into a fortress; making loopholes in the walls and trenches were carved into the gardens. In fact The Černin Palace was cannonaded(?) by 150 cannonballs during this siege. More damage was done in 1757 when Prague was besieged by Prussian army and the Černin Palace was once again cannonaded, this time for 12 days but am not sure how many cannon balls were thrown against the residence.
In 1920, the Černin Palace became the Seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was restored back to the original plans by Francesco Caratti. During the World War II, the palace was a Seat of the Reich Protector from 1939 to 1944.
However, after the war, once again it became the Ministry of Foreign Affairs again where it still Sits to this day.
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