Duchcov Chateau

Duchcov was rebuilt in baroque from 1675 for the Waldstein family by Jean-Baptiste Mathey, a long three-winged house with a court and a garden. In 1785 Count Josef Karl von Waldstein took on as his librarian a Venetian in his sixties with no money and nowhere to go: Giacomo Casanova, who stayed thirteen years, was miserable in the provincial cold, quarrelled with the servants, and in that time wrote the Histoire de ma vie, the memoir that is the reason anyone remembers him. He died here in 1798 and is buried in the town, though the exact grave was lost. His rooms are shown with manuscripts, furniture and portraits, and the chateau leans on him heavily and reasonably. There is also a ceiling by Vaclav Vavrinec Reiner, moved here from a demolished hospital chapel and reinstalled in a purpose-built pavilion, which is a serious piece of baroque painting.

What you actually see

• Casanova's rooms - where he worked as librarian from 1785 and wrote his memoirs.
• A Mathey baroque house - three wings around a court with a garden.
• A Reiner ceiling - moved from a demolished chapel and reinstalled in a pavilion.
• Manuscripts and portraits - the Casanova material held on site.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Guided tours only, seasonal, and the routes differ - check which includes the Casanova rooms. Duchcov is a former mining town and the surroundings are plain. Closed Mondays.

Nearby

Teplice spa is ten kilometres east; Osek monastery is north.