In the 16th century, burgher houses were located on Hradč any Square in Prague, but after the devastating fire of 1541, palaces were built here. One such building is the Schwarzenberg Palace - a majestic building, which looks more like a castle. Its faç ade is decorated with black and white sgraffito paintings, and the palace itself is a fine example of the so-called Czech Renaissance, which is essentially a mixture of Italian Renaissance motifs and Czech traditions. The construction of the palace was started in 1545 by one of the richest Czech nobles and the chief bourgeois Jan Lobkowicz.→