Nelahozeves Castle

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North facade
Southwest corner
patio

The Nelahozeves Castle (Czech. Zámek Nelahozeves , German Mühlhausen Castle ) built in the 16th century is one of the most important objects of the late Renaissance in Bohemia . It is located about 25 km north of Prague in Nelahozeves and rises on a rock above the Vltava .

history

The construction of the palace was started by Florian Griespek von Griespach in 1553. At that time Griespach was an advisor to the Bohemian King Ferdinand I and had already acquired the village of Nelahozeves and surrounding lands in 1544. The location near the residence in Prague was probably decisive for the layout of the castle. The construction was interrupted by Griespach's death in 1588 and only continued by his son Blasius Griespek von Griespach until 1614. A niece of Florian Griespeck von Griespach sold the three-wing complex in 1623 to Polyxena von Lobkowicz . Since then, with the exception of the years 1950 to 1993, the castle has been owned by the von Lobkowitz family . The newly acquired castle was destroyed several times by marauding troops during the Thirty Years' War . After the end of the war, Polyxena's son, Prince Wenzel Eusebius von Lobkowicz , began with the reconstruction. Minor cosmetic repairs took place in the 1860s. In 1876 Franz Riedl worked out a plan to renovate the palace in the neo-renaissance style . But this plan was never implemented.

After the expropriation in 1950, the palace and all of its inventory were returned to the Lobkowitz Princely House in 1993. The current (2006) owner is William von Lobkowitz , who also owns the Střekov Castle .

Todays use

Nelahozeves Castle is now considered an architectural jewel in Bohemia. The renaissance facade with figural sgraffito decoration has remained almost in its original form to this day. The same goes for some of the interiors too. In the castle there is a permanent exhibition opened in 1997 by Václav Havel of pieces from Lobkowitz's private collection, which were originally stored in Roudnice nad Labem . This collection is one of the oldest and most important private collections of Bohemian and Central European art in Europe. In addition to magnificent furniture, medieval reliquaries and church objects, it includes art pieces made of silver and porcelain, a collection of weapons and a collection of old musical instruments ( Amati , Stradivari , Steiner violins, Stolz Steiner bass violin). The highlights of the exhibition are the Lobkowitz library and the collection of paintings.

Between March and October there are regular guided tours of the castle, which can also be held in German or English if there is sufficient demand.

The Lobkowitz Library

The Lobkowitz Library is one of the richest and largest book collections in Old Bohemia. It is also one of the most important private libraries in Europe. The cornerstone of the library was the book collection of Bohuslav Felix von Lobkowitz and Hassenstein , an important Bohemian humanist and writer. Its holdings today include around 65,000 volumes that the Czech state returned to the family in 1993 after the partly irreplaceable books had been stored in boxes in various depots for more than 40 years after 1945. The most important example of the collection is a 10th century gospel book, probably from southern England . The library also has a 4,000-piece music archive. This archive also houses manuscripts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and especially Ludwig van Beethoven . The seventh Prince Lobkowitz, Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz, was one of Beethoven's great patrons. He dedicated part of his work to the Lobkowicz family.

The painting collection

The painting collection represents the most valuable part of the Lobkowitz collection. a. Works by Lucas Cranach the Elder Ä. , Pieter Brueghel the Elder Ä. ( The haymaking (1565)), Pieter Brueghel the Elder J. , Paolo Veronese , Peter Paul Rubens ( The Goddess Hygieia (1615)), Diego Velázquez ( Portrait of Infanta Margarete (1653)) and Bernardo Bellotto . Also on show are the so-called Spanish portraits from the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, a collection of portraits of noble families and members of the House of Habsburg .

See also

Web links

Commons : Nelahozeves Castle  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nelahozeves Castle | House of Lobkowicz. Retrieved October 6, 2018 (American English).

Coordinates: 50 ° 15 ′ 38.7 "  N , 14 ° 18 ′ 5.3"  E