Italian Court

The Italian Court is a former royal palace with a mint founded in 1300 by King Wenceslas II and was later rebuilt numerous times. Silver coins were minted here - the Prague groschen. It is protected as a cultural monument and since 1962 also as a national cultural monument.

The original fortified residence from the end of the 13th century was rebuilt into a central royal mint by King Wenceslas II in 1300. The coinage reform included the closure of small mints scattered throughout the Czech Kingdom and the introduction of a new coin, the Prague groschen. The production of this currency was concentrated in the vicinity of the richest source of silver in the country - the newly established mint in Vlašský dvůr in Kutná Hora, which thus gained a privileged position in the kingdom. King Wenceslas IV, who liked Kutná Hora and often stayed there, adapted the Vlašský dvůr to the needs of the monarch’s residence - he had the royal palace built, which included his private and representative spaces, and St. Wenceslas Chapel.

Many important historical events took place in the new royal residence: in 1409 the Kutná Hora Decree was signed here, in 1444 the future Czech king Jiří of Poděbrady was elected supreme governor of the East Bohemian landfrieds and in 1448 he was elected provincial governor here, in 1471 the young Polish prince Vladislaus the Jagiellonian was elected king of Bohemia here. Later on, the Italian Court gradually began to lose its importance and under the leadership of the architect Ludvík Labler it underwent another extensive and costly reconstruction at the end of the 19th century. The Neo-Gothic rebuilding gave the Italian Court its present appearance and restored the original grandeur, splendour and elegance of the royal residence.