Orlik Castle

Orlik - the little eagle - was built on a rock spur high above the Vltava and for six centuries stood some sixty 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 1849 to 1860 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.

History

Orlík was founded as a royal castle beside a ford across the Vltava in the second half of the 13th century, probably by Ottokar II, and later passed through many noble hands; from 1408 it belonged to the Zmrzlík of Svojšín family, in whose time the Hussite general Jan Žižka stayed here. After a fire in 1508 the new owners, the Lords of Švamberk, rebuilt it as a Renaissance chateau; the Eggenbergs acquired it in 1623 and the Schwarzenbergs inherited it in 1717, making it their main residence at the beginning of the 19th century. It burned out in 1802, and a fourth storey was added during the repairs. The family's best-known member, Field Marshal Karl Philipp Schwarzenberg, defeated Napoleon at Leipzig in 1813, and the present Romantic Gothic appearance dates from 1849-1860, to plans by Bernard Gruber. The castle originally stood on a rock 60 metres above the Vltava valley, and since the Orlík Reservoir was created in 1954-1962 it stands barely a few metres above the water (Wikipedia, Orlík Castle).

What's there

• A chateau on the waterline - the 1961 reservoir rose some sixty 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.

Good to know

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.

Key facts