Libochovice Chateau is a castle in the centre of

Libochovice Libochovice (german: Libochowitz) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,400 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Dubany and Poplze are administrative parts of Libochovice ...

town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

. It is a

cultural monument A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage regist ...

. It is one of the most significant early Baroque castles in the county. The castle is under the management of National Heritage Institute, it was declared the National Cultural Heritage on 1 January 2002. The castle is not the main landmark of the town because it is only seen from the other side of the Ohře river. Libochovice Chateau also boasts with the collections of tapestries, glass and porcelain. In 1787

Jan Evangelista Purkyně Jan Evangelista Purkyně (; also written Johann Evangelist Purkinje) (17 or 18 December 1787 – 28 July 1869) was a Czech anatomist and physiologist. In 1839, he coined the term ''protoplasm'' for the fluid substance of a cell. He was one of th ...

, a major Czech scientist and a scholar, was born in Libochovice.

History

During the gothic times, there was a fortress at the place of recent chateau, and at the year 1550 was listed as deserted. At 1560 were the ruins rebuilt into a chateau. In the 17th century, one hundred years after Libochovice was declared the town by

Ferdinand I Ferdinand I or Fernando I may refer to: People * Ferdinand I of León, ''the Great'' (ca. 1000–1065, king from 1037) * Ferdinand I of Portugal and the Algarve, ''the Handsome'' (1345–1383, king from 1367) * Ferdinand I of Aragon and Sicily, '' ...

, there was a huge fire, which destroyed almost half of the town. However, it was not for the first time. The town underwent three fires altogether, during which also Libochovice chateau was severely damaged. The current image of the chateau comes from the 17th century, when it was bought by . He asked Italian architect Antonio della Porta to restore it. Therefore, the Italian influence is evident. Antonio della Porta renewed this chateau between 1683 and 1690, economic buildings were restored between 1690 and 1697. Next renewing of chateau was between 1900 and 1914 by E. Fiala. The park was designed in French style by Jan Tulipán. During the 19th century, it was re-designed in English style and later restored again in the original design.

Description

The chateau has four wings and is surrounded by arcades lining the courtyard. The yard is accessible from the entrance gate and leads to the Italian symmetrical garden. There are also four fountains in the garden by stonemason Jakub Mitthofer. On the east side of the building, there is a balcony with columns and stairs leading to the garden that was built up in the middle of the 19th century. From the north side, the portal of the chateau with a Dietrichstein blazon is visible. In the courtyard there are embosses with the theme of the sea creatures made by Italian artists Jacob Tencalla and Giuseppe Mattoni. Italian embosses and mythological paintings can be found inside the chateau as well.History of the chateau Libochovice
Retrieved on 7 April 2013.

References

{{Authority control Castles in the Ústí nad Labem Region National Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic Museums in the Ústí nad Labem Region Historic house museums in the Czech Republic Litoměřice District