(*18 July 1552 - †20 January 1612) Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, King of Bohemia and Hungary. A lover of science and art, which he generously supported; his extensive collections are famous. Prague Castle was a studio, gallery and observatory at the same time. Rudolfinian Prague was the birthplace of modern astronomy and the first artistic metropolis of Europe; at the same time, it was a mysterious place of experimentation and the occult sciences.
