Litomysl Castle Reviews (Litomysl, Czech Republic)

Zamek Litomysl is wonderful for wedding

Moscow, Moskva, Russia

December 24, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo Zamek Litomysl located in the same city is a monumental architectural composition of the era of the great masters of the Renaissance. Construction of the castle lasted from 1568 to 1581 years. Litomishlsky lock - an outstanding and immaculately ...Read more

From journal Defense and guard fortress

Litomyšl Chateau

by captain oddsocks

Echuca, Australia

December 11, 2006

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Best of IgoUgo In 1999, the Litomyšl chateau was added to UNESCO’s list of world heritage for illustrating "in an exceptional way the aristocratic residences of central Europe in the Renaissance" period.Even though it’s not visible from all parts of Litomyšl, it ...Read more In 1999, the Litomyšl chateau was added to UNESCO’s list of world heritage for illustrating "in an exceptional way the aristocratic residences of central Europe in the Renaissance" period.

Even though it’s not visible from all parts of Litomyšl, it dominates the town and is the centre of local history and cultural activity. The chateau gardens and grounds are open to visitors year round and the interior is accessible on regular guided tours during the warmer months.

The chateau interior is divided into two tours; but in total thirteen rooms are accessible, including the billiard room, library, chapel and a rare baroque theatrette, which is one of only five working examples of its type in the world (another is at Český Krumlov in Southern Bohemia). A further highlight is the monstrous crystal chandelier which was created for Miloš Forman’s film Amadeus, and later donated to the Litomyšl chateau.

Perhaps the most intriguing feature of the chateau is the exterior decoration. The hundreds of square metres have been decorated with intricate sgraffito, which is a method of decorating a surface by scraping through a wet layer of plaster to expose the contrasting dry layer underneath. An abstract brick pattern covers the walls of the chateau and the individual illustrations within each brick are fascinating, with many of them not repeated anywhere else. Running around the base of the roof, the cornice is decorated with more pictorial representations of various legends and fables. The same pictorial decoration is used on the gables and chimneys and the gentle pattern of the sgraffito blocks is interrupted only by the sundial facing the entrance.

The chateau grounds are also accessible to the public and admittance is free. The entrance gate leads you through an arched tunnel onto the gravel and pebbles of the main courtyard, where the front of the chateau faces the former brewery building (in which the family home of Bedrich Smetana has been restored). To one side a fountain stands in front of the former stables and to the other side a path leads through a wrought iron gate to a small formal garden with statues, majestic old trees and glimpses down towards the centre of Litomyšl. It’s from these gardens that people gain entrance to the cellar gallery of Olbram Zoubek’s sculpture.

Continuing around to the rear of the chateau brings you to a large informal park. Paths wind and curl past the large amphitheatre and along the high stone walls, seats are scattered under leafy old trees and every so often you’ll come across a statue or vantage point that punctuates the greenery. There are plenty of suitable places for a picnic and with so much to see in the chateau complex (the interior, the exterior, Zoubek’s gallery and Smetana’s home) even the most hardened sightseers will need a break.

The chateau is open May through September, Tuesday through Sunday from 9am until 4pm, and in April and October only on weekends. Close

From journal Lovely Little Litomyšl

Litomysl Castle

by kjlouden

, West Virginia

January 7, 2005

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Best of IgoUgo The walls sing! Even if Smetana hadn’t been born here, Czechs couldn’t have found a more magical setting for their yearly opera festival! Standing on the second-floor arcaded porch, looking down into the courtyard, I could imagine costumes, drama… ...Read more
The walls sing!
Even if Smetana hadn’t been born here, Czechs couldn’t have found a more magical setting for their yearly opera festival! Standing on the second-floor arcaded porch, looking down into the courtyard, I could imagine costumes, drama… I simply looked at the sgraffiti on the one unbroken wall (no arcade) and projected those scenes downward. The first row depicts scenes from the Battle of Troy; the second features the Turkish army. Another pictures Samson and Delilah.

One could say, "The walls are alive… with the sound of drama." And this courtyard is alive in June and July with the sounds of Puccini, Verdi, and others during Smetana’s Litomysl Opera Festival, and again in September, with a youth version of the same festivities.

Sgraffito scratches
The plural is "sgraffiti." I saw more of this decoration in Litomysl than I am likely to see again. It’s a form of fresco painting for exterior walls. Some of the sgraffito on the castle is original, dating from 1580s. A rough plaster undercoat was applied over stone and overlaid with several thin coats, each with separate lime-fast color, then etched into a permanent fresco. Photos of the castle look make it look as though it were made of concrete block, because outer walls (outside the courtyard square) are entirely covered with small, individual designs, each bordered.

Don’t be misled by those photos and miss this castle! Close up, it’s beautiful!

UNESCO sings the praises!
But wait! The World Heritage designation of 1999 was not assigned to Litomysl Castle because of opera or sgraffiti! UNESCO explains that the complex of immaculately well-preserved buildings illustrates "in an exceptional way the aristocratic residences of central Europe in the Renaissance and their subsequent development under the influence of new artistic movements." Another note explains that this type of architectural style, the arcade-castle, was borrowed from Italy and modified in Czechia to create a highly developed form of "special architectural quality."

Aristocrats could sing--and write and act!
Vratislav of Pernstejn, the Trautmannsdorfs, the Wallenstein-Warttembergs, von Thurn, and Taxis family--those were the ruling families of the Litomysl demesne from the 1500s until the chateau passed into the hands of the state. Kosma Chronicle mentions the castle as far back as 981. That would have been a wooden structure, rebuilt in stone during Hussite Wars, acquired in 1567 by Pernstejn, and rebuilt by 1581 into a Renaissance chateau for himself and his wife, a Spanish Mendozo. Josef Wallenstein built the baroque theater after 1775 for his family’s and town’s favorite pastime, amateur dramatic productions. Also during the Wallenstein’s rule, Smetana’s father ran the brewery on the castle grounds, and the piano the composer played when he returned to perform is on view, as well as the chandelier donated by Milos Foreman after the filming of Amadeus. (Not filmed here.) So much a part of the community, the castle was declared a national treasure in 1962. It tells the story of the region.

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From journal Litomysl: Roots of a Czech National Art

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