Czernin Palace

Czernin Palace is quite the beautiful sight. Built between the late 17th century and the Baroque era, it’s renowned for having the most monumental façade in Prague. But beyond its imposing architecture, the building stands out for its national historical and political significance. It has been home to the Czech foreign ministry since 1918, the year Czechoslovakia was formed, greatly contrasting with its past as the Nazi headquarters during World War II. Czernin Palace was also the site where, in 1991, documents were signed to dissolve the Warsaw Pact. This historic military treaty forged an alliance between the USSR and several Eastern European countries, such as Bulgaria, Hungary, and Poland, during the Cold War. The pact was designed to counter West Germany’s entry into NATO. On a more tragic note, this is also where one of the country’s most infamous deaths occurred. On March 10, 1948, former politician Jan Masaryk fell to his death from one of the building’s windows. Was it an accident, suicide, or murder? The cause of death has been debated for decades. However, the most recent investigations lean towards the theory of assassination by the communists.