An inconspicuous little house on the northern edge of the Prague Castle grounds above the Powder Bridge has been standing there since 1581. It was built during the reign of Emperor Rudolph II. On the site of an older wooden menagerie. Lions were kept there, and leopards, tigers and bears too. From the end of the 17th century the breeding of animals in the Lion's Court began to decline; a written report from 1740 tells of the last bear being sent away. Then the building was adapted as a home for the court huntsman , and it was later used for other purposes. At the end of the 18th century the gardener Adam Utz set up a tavern there. And in our days, from 1967 -1972, the Lion's Court was again made into restaurant.  OPENING HOURS: daily 11am-12pm.