Nove Hrady u Skutce

Nove Hrady was built between 1773 and 1777 for Jean-Antoine Harbuval de Chamare, of a French family settled in Bohemia, in a late rococo and early classicist manner, and it was laid out as a French ensemble: a low white house on a terrace, a cour d'honneur, an axial approach and a formal garden with parterres and hedged compartments falling away behind. That French character is why it acquired the local nickname of the small Czech Versailles, which is generous but conveys the intention. It fell into severe decay in the twentieth century - by the 1990s it was near collapse - and was bought privately in 1997 and restored over two decades by the owners, who run it with a bicycle museum, a museum of curiosities and a cafe alongside the historic rooms. The garden has been replanted to the old plan.

History

The village was first called Boží Dům, "God's house", after its first church, and took the name Nové Hrady when the old castle was replaced by a new one; it is first mentioned in 1293 as part of the Litomyšl estate. Zdeněk Kostka of Postupice built a late Gothic castle here in 1442-1468, it was later rebuilt as a Renaissance residence, and in the Thirty Years' War the Swedish army looted and destroyed it. In 1750 the Harbuval de Chamaré family bought the estate, and in 1773-1777 Count Jan Antonín Harbuval Chamaré built the rococo chateau, which he designed himself, with plans by the Tyrolean architect Josef Jäger on the model of French summer residences; it stands on the slope below the old castle, whose material was reused. The cour d'honneur with its side wings followed in 1778-1783, the entrance gate was finished in 1782, and the grounds with the French garden to the north were laid out in 1786-1804, the ensemble being called the Czech Versailles or the Little Schönbrunn. The family hardly used the house from the second half of the 19th century and sold it in 1903 to the Prague merchant Štěpán Berger, who had the interiors restored; later owners repaired it again in 1936-1939, and since it was bought by a private couple in 1997 the chateau and its grounds have been under restoration (Wikipedia, Nové Hrady (Ústí nad Orlicí District); Czech Wikipedia, Nové Hrady (zámek, okres Ústí nad Orlicí)).

What you'll find

• A French rococo ensemble - white house, cour d'honneur and axial approach.
• A replanted formal garden - parterres and hedged compartments on the old plan.
• A private restoration - bought near-derelict in 1997 and rebuilt over two decades.
• Museums alongside - bicycles and curiosities in the outbuildings.

When to go

May to September. Half a day.

Practical notes

Privately run, so opening follows the owners' schedule and is seasonal. The Versailles comparison is a local one. The added museums are eclectic. Public transport is poor.

Nearby

Skutec is eight kilometres away; Toulovcovy mastale are south.