Steinsky palace, Cultural monument in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.
Steinsky Palace is a modernist building on the north side of Ulrichovo náměstí in Hradec Králové, designed by Otakar Novotný and built in 1928–29 for factory owner Rudolf Steinský-Sehnoutka. It has a central four-storey block with a flat roof and two three-storey wings with pitched roofs. The square-facing facade is clad in sandstone slabs from Králové Dvůr, with a glazed ground-floor bay and French windows with wooden shutters on the first floor. A relief in the attic by Karel Dvořák shows Mercury holding a spindle and shuttle above textile workers.
Rudolf Steinský-Sehnoutka commissioned the palace from architect Otakar Novotný, who had already worked for him in Černožice; the project was drawn up in 1927 and the building erected in 1928–29. The plot had been reserved for cultural use in Josef Gočár's regulatory plan, which was amended to suit the palace. The family left in 1948; from 1974 to 1989 the secretariat of the regional Communist Party committee occupied it after an adaptation that removed the flats and altered the courtyard facade. Restituted after 1989, it was restored in the early 1990s.
The textile magnate Rudolf Steinský-Sehnoutka took his uncle's surname Sehnoutka out of gratitude after being orphaned in 1904. The attic relief by sculptor Karel Dvořák shows Mercury with spindle and shuttle above textile workers, a woman holding a shield with the letter S, and the palace itself in the background.
The palace is centrally located in Hradec Králové and easily reached on foot, especially when visiting other historic sites in the city. The best time to view it is during daylight hours when the building is fully visible.
The attic relief above the main facade, designed by sculptor Karel Dvořák and carved by Václav Škoda, shows Mercury holding a spindle and shuttle, with two female figures bearing an "S" shield and a roll of cloth; the palace itself appears in the background.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,719 contributors worldwide.