Was it always a psychiatric day clinic? No. Before you stands Horní Palata a former vineyard estate in Prague’s Smíchov district. Its history stretches back centuries. Originally four vineyards occupied this land. Jakub Baševi z Treuenburka acquired them in 1624. He unified them under the name Palata. His heirs later sold the estate to the Jesuit order. They owned it until their order’s dissolution in 1773.
The original medieval structure underwent a Baroque renovation around 1725. The Jesuits enhanced the estate adding a wine press and outbuildings. They also improved the residential section with summer accommodations. Later in the 19th century the building was remodeled. Original features remain though. Vaulted cellars and old Renaissance stonework are still visible.
The main building is two stories high with a gabled roof. Its facade features horizontal divisions. The building and its outbuildings enclose an irregular courtyard. A large walled garden surrounds the estate. A large entrance gate survives on the east side. The Czech Republic owns the buildings. The General Faculty Hospital operates a day psychoterapeutic clinic here. The structures underwent renovations in the 1960s.
Horní Palata’s history isn’t a simple one. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries it was divided. A lower section called Malá Palata existed. Its residential building was demolished in 2016. In 1889 the Czech Savings Bank bought Horní Palata. They built the Francisco-Josephinum a facility for blind adults. This building stands near the main building of Horní Palata.
Part of the garden belonged to the Sady lesy a zahradnictví Praha company which had a nursery there. In 2016 Domov Palata requested removal of the nursery. The old glasshouse and boiler room remained as of January 2017. Northern parts of the grounds were subdivided for roads before World War II. Since the 1970s residential houses have occupied that space. So Horní Palata’s history reflects Prague’s changing landscape. From vineyards to a hospital the site holds many stories.