Kaiserstein Palace

Kaiserstein Palace brings occasional concerts into a High Baroque residence on Lesser Town Square, enriched by the legacy of opera singer Ema Destinnová.

The privately operated palace is primarily an event venue rather than a concert hall with a permanent repertoire. Its first and second floors host concerts and other occasions, centred on the Ema Destinnová Hall and seven smaller salons.

A High Baroque transformation

The palace was extensively rebuilt around 1700 for František Helfried of Kaiserstein, following a design generally attributed to Giovanni Battista Alliprandi. The High Baroque front wing faces Lesser Town Square, while the rear building in Josefská Street preserves Renaissance vaults and painted late-Renaissance ceilings.

The Four Elements above the façade

Ottavio Mosto created the attic statues of Fire, Air, Water and Earth, accompanied by decorative vases. Below them, the Kaiserstein coat of arms recalls the family behind the transformation. The ground-floor arcade was restored during the palace’s 1977–1981 reconstruction.

Ema Destinnová’s musical legacy

The celebrated Czech opera singer lived in a first-floor apartment. Her connection with the palace is commemorated by a bust on the façade and by the large second-floor hall bearing her name, which continues to host concerts within the palace’s wider event programme.