A Castle under Ten Locks

The Emperor Joseph II ordered a military powder magazine to be set up here, and from that time the Star was locked under ten locks. It was like an enchanted castle: no one came there and no one knew what treasures of art were hidden within. Only in 1866, when during the Prussian occupation the military administration left Prague and abandoned everything to an uncertain fate, did the city of Prague take charge of the deserted castle — and then, in July, thousands of Praguers hurried to look inside. Before the army returned, plans of the building were made and its ornaments drawn; then, despite all pleas and protests, the powder magazine was put back here, until in 1874 the powder was removed.