Orlik Castle

Orlik - the little eagle - was built on a rock spur high above the Vltava and for six centuries stood some seventy metres above the water. That changed in 1961 when the Orlik dam was completed and the reservoir rose until it lapped the foot of the walls, which is why the chateau now appears to sit on the shoreline in every photograph. The building is a neo-Gothic remodelling of the 1840s and 1850s for the Schwarzenberg family over an older core, and it survived with its contents: Empire and neo-Gothic furnishing, carved wooden ceilings by Jan Turek, arms, and the collections of Karel Schwarzenberg the Napoleonic-era field marshal, including trophies from the campaigns. It was returned to the family in 1992. The park behind runs to a hundred and forty hectares with the family burial vault in it. Boat cruises run to Zvikov upstream.

What you actually see

• A chateau on the waterline - the 1961 reservoir rose seventy metres to reach it.
• Carved wooden ceilings - Jan Turek's work in the neo-Gothic state rooms.
• Napoleonic-era collections - the field marshal Schwarzenberg's arms and trophies.
• A 140-hectare park - with the family burial vault behind the house.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

Guided tours only, seasonal, and busy in summer. Reservoir levels vary and can leave a bare shoreline. Boat services run to a seasonal timetable. Photography inside is restricted.

Nearby

Zvikov castle is upstream at the confluence; Pisek is south.