Jaromerice nad Rokytnou

Jaromerice was rebuilt between 1700 and 1737 for Count Jan Adam Questenberg to designs by Jakob Prandtauer and others into a complex on a scale out of proportion to the small town: a chateau, a church, courtyards and a formal garden laid out as one composition, covering a larger footprint than most Czech residences and among the biggest baroque ensembles in Central Europe. Questenberg ran a court that was musically serious - he maintained an orchestra and an opera company, brought Italian singers, and commissioned works; Frantisek Vaclav Mica, his kapellmeister, wrote what is often described as the first opera composed in the Czech lands with a Czech text, performed here in 1730. A music festival continues that. The interiors include a hall of ancestors and painted rooms; the church of St Margaret adjoins directly. The French garden runs to the river with an English park beyond.

What you actually see

• A vast baroque composition - chateau, church, courts and garden as one design.
• A count's opera company - Italian singers and an orchestra maintained on site.
• Mica's 1730 opera - often called the first with a Czech text.
• A French garden to the river - with an English park beyond it.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Guided tours only, seasonal, with several routes. The scale means a lot of walking. Festival dates change the opening. The town itself is small and quiet.

Nearby

Trebic is fifteen kilometres north; Namest nad Oslavou is beyond it.