Villa Richter, Classicist villa in Malá Strana, Prague, Czech Republic

Villa Richter is a Neoclassical villa built in 1832 to a design by architect Josef Peschka, standing on a rock above Klárov at the edge of Malá Strana. It has two addresses, Na Opyši 5 and Staré zámecké schody 6, and is entered either from the Old Castle Stairs to the south or through a small gate by the Black Tower of Prague Castle. The grounds include the St Wenceslas vineyard, planted with Riesling and Pinot Noir and 35 vine varieties along the viewing path.

Tomáš František Richter bought the Malá Strana house U Verdugů in 1799 and added a vintner's cottage; his son Karel Emanuel Richter, a regional councillor, had the villa built there in 1832 to plans by architect Josef Peschka, which have not survived. Confiscated from the Richter family after World War II, it housed the Cuban embassy, then the State Security and Castle Guard, and passed to the Prague Castle Administration in 1992. Reconstruction began in 2006 and the villa and vineyard reopened to the public in 2008.

The villa's grounds include the Svatováclavská vinice, a vineyard whose history reaches back to the 10th century, replanted after the 2004 competition. Along the viewing path grow 35 grape varieties recorded in the Czech variety register, beside the main plantings of Ryzlink rýnský and Rulandské modré. The building now houses the Piano Nobile restaurant and hosts weddings for Czech and foreign clients.

Villa Richter has two entrances: from the south via Staré zámecké schody, or through a small gate by the Black Tower of Prague Castle. The villa and the adjacent St Wenceslas vineyard have been open to the public again since 2008.

The villa stands beside the Svatováclavská vinice, a vineyard whose history reaches back to the 10th century, making it one of the oldest in the Czech Republic. Along the viewing path, 35 grape varieties recorded in the Czech Variety Book are planted, alongside Riesling and Pinot Noir.