Grand Staircase

The model for the grand staircase was Vienna's Schönbrunn Palace, whose stairs were reproduced here on a more modest scale. The balustrade carries personifications of Day, Night and the four elements: fire, water, earth and air. The sculptures were made by Dionýz Stanetti, a member of an Italian-Austrian artistic family. He settled in Kremnica in the mid-18th century; his other works include the plague columns in Kremnica and Banská Štiavnica.

The sculptural decoration is complemented by allegorical scenes painted on the ceiling. The central fresco shows a gathering of ancient deities with Juno in the middle. Jupiter appears beside her, while Athena, Apollo and Flora are among the other figures. The statues on the balustrade represent time and natural forces, whereas the painting develops the theme of the gods. These are different sets of figures, rather than the same scene repeated in two media. When looking at the decoration, compare the actual space between the statues with the painted space above them.