the royal palace of Prague, Hans Spiess, Benedikt Ried
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The royal palace of Prague, built in the 12th century next to the St Vitus cathedral in the castle of Prague (Hradčany), was rebuilt by Kings Charles IV and Wenceslas IV in the 14th century. The late Gothic and Renaissance reconstructions were started by Wladislas II in the middle of the 1480s, initially under the direction of Hans Spiess, who built the late Gothic residential wing in the western part. In 1493 Benedikt Ried took over the direction of the building of the palace, and built the enormous Wladislas hall (16 by 62 m) together with the knights' stairs between 1493 and 1502. The chancellery or Louis II wing was built between 1502 and 1509. The palace burnt down in 1541, then went through a major rebuilding.
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Hans Spiess
An architect from Frankfurt who worked mainly in Bohemia. He died some time between 1491 and 1511. From 1486 to 1488 he worked on the collegiate church of Mělník. By 1487 the latest he directed the construction of the royal palace of Prague. The residential wing of the western part of the palace is certainly his work. He also took part in the rebuilding of the castle of Křivoklat (Pürglitz).
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Benedikt Ried
(Piesting, 1454 Prague, 1534) An architect, who trained in the lodges of the cathedrals of Passau and Vienna. In 1480 he was working on the rebuilding of the castle of Burghausen. He may also have visited Buda in the 1480s. Between 1486 and 1495 he supervised the modernisation of the fortification system of the Prague castle, and built several towers for cannons. He built the royal oratory of the St. Vitus cathedral in Prague between 1490-93. Between 1493 and 1502 he executed his masterpiece, the Wladislas hall in the Prague castle, then, between 1512 and 1540, he finished the nave and aisles of the St Barbara church of Kutna Hora. He built the St Nicholas church of Louny between 1519 and 1538, the renaissance palace wing of the castle of Blatna around 1523, then the castle of Sabkovice between 1523 and 1532. After 1498 he worked on the castle of Rabi; after 1504, on the castle of Švichov.
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