Opočno

The complex of the Opočno Chateau was founded on the site of a medieval fortified settlement, which, according to the Kosmas´ Chronicle, was situated on an old merchant path since the year 1068. The castle was conquered and devastated in 1425 during the Hussite wars. The Trček of Lípa family rebuilt its ruins into a Renaissance chateau in the mid-16th century. A broad-minded concept and big family property supposed the construction of an extensive complex. The chateau building received a rectangular floor plan around the inner courtyard and open arcade galleries with slim Tuscan columns, which connect all the rooms of the chateau. The façade is decorated by lively sgraffito decoration. The part of the chateau facing the town was surrounded by a moat and served a defense function. A part of the complex is the Bowling Hall, a single-story summerhouse connected by a corridor to the chateau and its chapel.

After the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, the Trček property was confiscated and Rudolph Colloredo, an officer of the imperial military forces, became its new owner. In the early 18th century, the Colloredo family realized some Baroque changes of the chateau according to the design by G.B.Alliprandi. In 1813, the Russian Tsar Alexander I, Prussian King Frederick William III and the Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Metternich held a war meeting against Napoleon in the chateau. In the 19th century, it went through architectural changes in the style of Classicism. One arcade wing was demolished and the courtyard was opened onto the park, which in 1806–20 was designed in the valley. The English landscape park stretches into the valley of Zlatý potok (Golden Stream) in an area of 22 hectares. Here we can find rare trees, little ponds with artificial waterfalls, a Chinese pavilion and a hermit's cave. Behind the English park there is a deer park.

The chateau's historic interiors, complete with original furnishings and valuable art collections, are accessible to the public, as are the ethnographic objects from Africa and America, the picture gallery with works by Italian, Dutch and Czech masters, the library containing 12,000 books and the armory, which has one of the biggest collections of arms in the Czech Republic. It includes weapons since antiquity up to the 19th century. Unique African and Native American weapons are represented here as well.

For further information:
http://www.opocno.cz