Plumlov Chateau

Plumlov is the most conspicuous unfinished building in Moravia. Prince Karel Eusebius of Liechtenstein designed it himself in the 1680s as a four-winged baroque palace round a court, on the rock above the old castle, and only one wing was built - four storeys of it, tall and narrow, covered in pilasters and sculptural detail, standing on the hill with nothing behind and no other side. Work stopped when he died in 1684 and was never resumed. The proportions of the surviving wing are strange because it was designed to be seen as one side of an enclosure and is instead a slab, which is exactly why it is memorable. There is an exhibition inside on the building and the Liechtenstein estates. Below the hill lies the Plumlov reservoir, a summer bathing lake, and the Drahany highlands begin behind.

What you'll find

• One wing of four - built to full height and left with nothing behind it.
• A prince's own design - drawn by Karel Eusebius of Liechtenstein in the 1680s.
• Sculptural pilastered facades - detail intended to face an enclosed court.
• A reservoir below - the Plumlov bathing lake under the hill.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Practical notes

The interiors are largely bare or given to exhibitions - the building is the interest. Guided access is seasonal. The reservoir has had algae problems and bathing bans in past summers; check before swimming.

Nearby

Prostejov is eight kilometres east; the Drahany highlands are west.

Key facts