Znojmo Castle is a castle in the city of

Znojmo Znojmo (; german: Znaim) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian ...

, a historic city in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

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. The ...

History

The Znojmo Castle was initially a wooden structure built by the Přemyslid

Bretislaus I, Duke of Bohemia Bretislav I ( cs, Břetislav I.; 1002/1005 – 10 January 1055), known as the "Bohemian Achilles", of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1034 until his death. Youth Bretislav was the son of Duke Oldřich and his low-born concubine ...

, and completed around 1080. The structure was intended to replace an old castle across the Granice Valley, as part of an attempt at strengthening the defenses along the river Dyje against

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

attack. From the new castle the river valley and surrounding area could be observed. However, in 1140, the wooden castle was besieged and destroyed. Towards the end of the 12th century, the castle was reconstructed, this time in stone, and included a deep moat. The entrance to the castle was guarded by an octagonal tower called the Robber's Tower, which collapsed due to neglect at the end of the 19th century. The Royal City of Znojmo was founded by King

Ottokar I of Bohemia Ottokar I ( cs, Přemysl Otakar I.; c. 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 ( ...

and the Znojmo castle became the city's stronghold, connected to the city walls and containing a strong garrison of soldiers. The importance of Znojmo Castle diminished near the end of the 17th century, after the Turkish threat was averted by Prince Eugene of Savoy. The Roman Emperor

Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 * Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) *Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...

redeemed the castle in 1710. The front end of the castle was sold to local citizens and became the town brewery, producing Hostan beer. The rear of the castle came into the hands of the Lords of Deblin who built a Baroque chateau on the space, which still stands. The only remains of the castle used by the Přemysl dukes is the Romanesque Rotunda of Saint Catherine, the interior of which is covered with 11th-century

frescoes Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster ...

depicting biblical scenes and illustrating the life of Přemysl.

References

{{coord, 48, 51, 20.49, N, 16, 2, 32.96, E, display=title, region:CZ_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Castles in the Czech Republic Buildings and structures in Znojmo Castles in the South Moravian Region