Stallhof, Renaissance tournament ground in Old Town, Dresden, Germany

Stallhof is a long Renaissance courtyard begun in 1586 for Elector Christian I, enclosed by the Johanneum, the older Chancellery building and the Long Corridor. Its left side is an arcade of round arches on white cylindrical columns with square bases and capitals, topped by a black-and-white foliate frieze and a blue-grey wall with white-framed windows. The gravel court is divided by black metal posts linked by a single rail, with taller ornate posts at intervals.

Built between 1586 and 1591 under Elector Christian I, this venue hosted equestrian tournaments, hunts, and jousting competitions that displayed princely power. The complex served as a stage for these spectacles that reinforced the ruler's authority and prestige.

The Fürstenzug on the outer wall of the Langer Gang is a 102-metre mural of about 23,000 Meissen porcelain tiles, showing a procession of all the rulers of the House of Wettin. It was placed there after the arcade's original horse paintings, perhaps after Stradanus or Antonio Tempesta, had faded. The courtyard now hosts the medieval Christmas market.

The courtyard is entered from the Schlossplatz side, where the Fürstenzug runs along the outer wall of the Lange Gang; the arcade itself is on the left as you walk in. The ground is flat stone and gravel, and the arcade of 20 Tuscan columns gives shelter in rain. The medieval Christmas market fills the yard in Advent.

Of the 34 stone posts that once bounded the tournament ground, 13 survive; they were cast in 1591 by Merten Hilger. The two bronze ring-jousting columns stand 6.10 metres tall, and a live bear was once chained at the horse-washing basin in the front part of the courtyard.