Troja Chteau is indeed a remarkable and exceptional building.In fact,it would be better to call it a villa instead of a chteau, because it echoes the opulent Roman suburban villas which its builder, Count Wenzel Adalbert of Sternberg,encountered on his long journey.The spectacular houses amidst endless gardens mesmerized him to such a degree that he decided to transfer a piece of the Eternal City to his native country.The young count was lucky in selecting both the site and the artists who were to make his dream come true.
The construction of the early Baroque chteau began in 1679.The project was executed by an architect of French origin,Jean Baptiste Mathey, whose design exploited his experiences from his sojourn to Italy and was inspired by a typical Roman suburban villa.The central and dominant feature of the entire mass of the construction is a large hall with a corridor running to both sides and with an enfilade of adjoining salons.On the sides, the building is both vertically and horizontally enclosed by two-storey towering belvederes.The sculptural decoration of the two-armed staircase leading to the garden was entrusted to the Dresden artists Georg and Paul Hermanns.The monumental sculptures on the staircase symbolize the Titans fighting the Classical gods. The individual sculptures along the perimeter of the staircase represent Classical gods,allegories of periods of the day and year and allegories of continents.Most of the paintings found on the ground floor of the chteau were created by Carpoforo Tencalla, while Francesco Marchetti and his son Giovanni Francesco worked on the first floor. The Flemish painters Abraham and Isk Godyns were summoned by the builder to execute the illusive decoration of the large main hall.
Prague Zoowas opened in 1931 with the goal to "advance the study of zoology, protect wildlife, and educate the public" in the district of Troja in the north of Prague. In 2013, the Zoo occupied a total of 58 hectares (140 acres) with 45 hectares (110 acres) in use for exhibits and housed about 4,200 animals that represented almost 650 species,including 132 species listed as threatened. It has contributed significantly to saving Przewalski's horse. For many years, it was the biggest breeder of the species in the world. In 2007, Forbes Traveler Magazine listed Prague Zoo as the seventh best Zoo in the world. In 2015, TripAdvisor listed it as the fourth best Zoo in the world. Last year 1,448,353 visitors came to Prague Zoo.That's a record for the most visitors in one year in the history of the zoo.2016 was very successful in all areas. Two elephant males were born in Prague Zoo during 2016. A little male gorilla, Ajabu, was unexpectedly born to twenty-four-year-old Shinda.