Kratochvile Chateau

Kratochvile - the name means pastime - was built between 1583 and 1589 for Vilem of Rozmberk by Baldassare Maggi as a summer villa in the Italian manner, and it is the purest example of that idea in the Czech lands: a small two-storey block standing in the middle of a walled and moated rectangular garden, with the service buildings, chapel and gatehouse arranged around the wall so the villa itself stands alone in the middle of the water. The interiors are covered in stucco relief by Antonio Melana, ceilings and friezes with hunting scenes, mythology, battles and animals, painted and gilded, and they survive largely as made. There is no later remodelling of substance. The chapel has painted decoration. The building was used for years as a museum of animated film, which has moved out, and the historic interiors are the visit again.

History

The moated fortified stronghold of 1569 was turned into a hunting lodge between 1583 and 1589 by William of Rosenberg, designed after the Roman country villa and named Kratochvíle; the architect was Baldassare Maggi from Arogno in Ticino. The whole complex, with an entrance wing, fortifications, moat and drawbridge, forms a slightly elongated rectangle, and the house was built on piles in marshy ground; the Chapel of Our Lady in the southwest corner of the garden dates from 1584 to 1589. The rooms, above all the Great Gold Hall where visitors were received, are decorated with stucco reliefs and murals on classical mythology by Antonio Melana, and restorers found five paintings of the life of Samson in the adjoining Small Gold Hall. Its great days ended when Peter Vok of Rosenberg, in debt, had to sell it to Emperor Rudolf II in 1601; the emperor gave it to the Eggenberg family, and in 1719 it passed to the Schwarzenbergs, who in the 19th century turned it into apartments. Restoration was carried out in 1950, and the castle now houses an exhibition of Czech puppet and animated film with original works by Jiří Trnka, Hermína Týrlová and Karel Zeman (Wikipedia, Kratochvíle Castle).

What to look for

• An Italian villa in a moat - standing alone inside a walled rectangular garden.
• Stucco ceilings throughout - Melana's relief work with hunting and mythology.
• Original decoration - no substantial later remodelling to obscure it.
• A walled garden layout - service buildings and chapel set into the enclosure wall.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

What to expect

Guided tours only, seasonal, closed in winter. It is small - a couple of hours. Photography inside is restricted. The village nearby has limited services.

Nearby

Netolice is two kilometres away; Hluboka chateau is east.

Key facts