ABOUT HRADEC NAD MORAVICÍ CASTLE
Hradec nad Moravicí Castle is located in the Czech Republic, in Opava district on a hill above Moravice river and Hradečný brook. The favorable position of this place allowed its settlement ever since the prehistoric times, providing trade and security opportunuities. However, it also meant, the settlement was often the target of battles during numerous wars, depending of the relationship level between the Czech lands and Polonia. The fortification was burned and re-built many times.
The first stone castle was built in the second half of 13th Century during the Přemyslids clan reign. The first written documents about its existence comes from 1277), when the king Přemysl Otakar II. (Otokar II. Of Bohemia) met the Nuremberg burgrave Friedrich for diplomatic negotiations here. In 1279-1281, the Czech queen Kunhuta lived here after she had to escape Bohemia after a lost battle. In 1318, Nicholas II. accepted the Opavia Lands from the hands of the king which meant, Hradec became the main seat of Opavian princes for the following 115 years. During those times, the fortification was improved and new palaces were built to increase the comfort of the nobles. In 1428, the Hussite warriors approached Hradec, but there was no battle this time as the castle´s Duke Wenceslas surrended. The treaty brought wealth to the Hussite troops and peace to the tenants of the castle. However, the reputation of the castle dropped.
In 1581, Kasper von Proskau got the lands and finally, the fortress was re-built into a representative Renaissance castle. Around 1600, the northern and eastern wings were built, the western wing was finished, and the castle had finally its four wings. There are some minor artifacts left until today. Unfortunately, the Thirty-Year War started and the castle was plundered again. Afterwards, there was a Plaque epidemic and then, there was another war, this time with the Danish troops. In 1627, Opava area was conquered back by the (Czech) Waldstein family and the Pruskau family started re-building again, this time in the Baroque Style. During their 150 years of reign, the cultural and social status of Hradec gained its importance, numerous music events and theater plays took place here. In 1777, the castle was sold to Prussian dukes, Lichnowsky family. Unfortunately, in 1796 the castle burned down again. It took a few years to start building again.They demolished the remains of the old castle (as well as areas of the nearby town) and started all over again, this time in the Empire Style. Finally, the castle gained its today´s looks. The original fortress turned into a luxury aristocrats´ seat. The architect was Johann Mihartsh and he did an excellent job. The Lichnowsky family owned the castle for several generations, however after the WWII ended in 1945, the castle was confiscated by Czechoslovakia state. Today, the Czech Heritage Institute takes care of the castle.
Let´s have a look at the parts of the castle:
WHITE CASTLE – this is the representative part of the castle. The nobles lived here, all cultural and social events took place here. The guests of the castle were celebrities of those times – Ludwig van Beethoven, Ferenc Liszt and many more. As for architecture, this manor was built in the Empire Style. The northern wing was elevated and on the southern side, greenhouses and an orangery were built. (They don´t exist anymore though.) The front entry is decorated with six ionic columns with a balcony and a triangle tympanum on top, decorated with linear rustic. On the ground floor, there used to be a theater stage and on the first floor, there were accommodation and representative rooms. The inner yard was divided by arcades standing on Tudor style pillars. The dominant of the yard is a tower with a spiral staircase connecting the floors. This tower was built in 1861.
RED CASTLE Even though is looks very luxurious, in fact it used to be horse stables, carriage (and later, first cars) garage, forge etc. The architects were Alexander Langer and Ernest Händel. The first thing a visitor sees is an impressive entrance gate with three towers. Once you enter the castle, you will see a 35 mts tall and six meters wide clock tower. The tower was built in 1880. There are 99 steps leading to the view balcony.
WHITE (WATER) TOWER is the youngest and most distinctive part of the castle. The tower has a rectangular shape, with a steep roof and several decorative chimneys and towers. The staircase was built outside the main body of the tower. Most probably there used to be a defensive tower on the exact same place in the older times. The floors are only rising into the third floor, floors four and up were in fact huge water tanks made of cast iron, able to contain 28500 liters of water. Water from this tower was distributed to the castle as well as the nearby town.
THE PARK is worth the mention as well. It is lined by red brick walls, its bricks were mad especially for this occasion. There are two outlook points and a huge dendrology park where you can spend hours just walking around.
You can visit the castle, take a guided tour in the white castle, climb the tower and the entrance gate, walk around the red castle, have a lunch in a local restaurant, walk in the park and take great photos or join numerous cultural events throughout the year.
Texts: Simona Čechalová
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