Karlova Koruna (german: Karlskrone) is a

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Now ...

in the town of

Chlumec nad Cidlinou Chlumec nad Cidlinou (; german: Chlumetz an der Zidlina) is a town in Hradec Králové District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,600 inhabitants. Administrative parts The town is made up of town parts of Chlume ...

in 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. The ...

History

The château was built for František Ferdinand Kinský in 1721–23. Construction was completed in time for King Charles VI's

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

. František Ferdinand Kinský invited the king to the château and named the castle after the king (Karlova Koruna means ''Charles' crown'' in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

). Originally, there was a stronghold as nobleman seat in

town, and the first mention in a source-books is from 1424 when the stronghold was conquered by the warrior Boček of Poděbrady. In the beginning of the 16th century a new

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

fortification was built. The Kinský family obtained this property in the beginning of the 17th century and kept it till 1948. It was returned to the family after 1990. The High Chancellor of Bohemian Kingdom count František Ferdinand Kinský (1668 – 1741) decided to convert the building into a folly corresponding to the reputation of his noble family. Some of the best architects and master builders of that times –

Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel Jan Blažej Santini Aichel (3 February 1677 – 7 December 1723) was a Czech architect of Italian descent, whose major works represent the unique Baroque Gothic style - the special combination of the Baroque and Gothic styles. Biograp ...

and

František Maxmilián Kaňka František Maxmilián Kaňka (9 August 1674 in Prague – 14 July 1766 in Prague) was a Czech architect and builder. He was known for modifying castles, palaces and churches. In 1724 he was appointed emperor's architect. Work He is most famous f ...

– were engaged to create this work of art. As a dedication, this new pleasure house was named after emperor Karel VI. who visited Chlumec in September 1723 while returning from his coronation in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. In the middle of the 17th century the Kinský family began to use this folly more often. That is why the property was enlarged – detached administrative and accommodation wings were newly built. The hyppodrome, where the Chlumec peasants of well-known uprising were imprisoned in 1775, also grew up in this time.

Architecture

The basic architectural design was drafted by Santini-Aichel. The details and participation in the building process can be attributed to Kaňka. The manor's design reveals one of the most noteworthy manor dispositions created in the

Czech lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands ( cs, České země ) are the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia. Together the three have formed the Czech part of Czechoslovakia since 1918, the Czech Socialist Republic since ...

. The central high cylindrical body of the building is occupied by a three storied main hall to which 3 wings are connected. Due to this the manor does not need passages and its external appearance changes as the

observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in co ...

walks around it. The architecture of the chateau reflects the charisma and unique craft of Santini-Aichel and Kaňka. This is best demonstrated on a horizontal projection – three cubes are projecting from surmounting central cylinder. All views of the chateau are similar – opening wings extend from high central mass. The whole building is decorated by a light bossage, a simple string course, a weathering and a cornice. There are also soprafenstras. Three layered gables (one on each side) are above the cornice. Due to this combination of dynamical design and modest decoration is Karlova Koruna chateau considered to be one of the best Santini-Aichl's structure. The stately staircase is situated on the north side. It is half-covered in buttress and leads into the first floor. In a ground-floor, the main central space is conceived as a sala terrena divided by six columns. The ceremonial Marble hall lined with Ionian demi-columns and gallery occupies the first and the second floor of the building. From this central cylinder the three lower wings run out. In these three square-shaped parts dwelling spaces, receiving rooms, parlours and cabinets are situated. Every wing has its own mansard. The mansard of the central part is constructed as a cone and octahedral spire.

Inspirations

According to Mojmír Horyna the building was designed as a „radius centrally planned building“, the type Santini-Aichel had applied to sacral buildings in Panenské Břežany, Ostrov u Stříbra and Zelená Hora, and now newly used to create profane building. Santini-Aichel was probably influenced by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's studies of using centrally planned building for designing profane architecture. The influence of Austrian architect

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (20 July 1656 – 5 April 1723) was an Austrian architect, sculptor, engraver, and architectural historian whose Baroque architecture profoundly influenced and shaped the tastes of the Habsburg Empire. His inf ...

is also clear.

Reconstructions

In the last years of the 19th century the chateau was rebuilt. Between 1908 – 1909 outbuildings were reconstructed according to the plans of

Friedrich Ohmann Friedrich Ohmann (21 December 1858, Lemberg - 6 April 1927, Vienna) was an Austrian architect in the Historicist style. Life and work His father was a building official. In 1877, he began his studies in architecture at the Technical Universit ...

. Master builder Josef Blecha jr. and architect Ludvík Lábler carried out another great re-adjustment between 1927 – 1928. After a fire in 1943 the chateau was repaired by SÚRPMO office in 1967. After 1990 the property was restituted to the Kinský family.

Surroundings

The Karlova Koruna chateau, situated on the top of small hill, was created as point de vue of the neighbouring park. Many remarkable species grow there – e.g.

European black pine ''Pinus nigra'', the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica and Cyprus, as wel ...

( Pinus nigra) or Turkish hazel (

Corylus colurna ''Corylus colurna'', the Turkish hazel or Turkish filbert, is a deciduous tree native to southeast Europe and southwest Asia, from the Balkans through northern Turkey to northern Iran. It is also found growing wild in the forests of Western Himal ...

). Santini-Aichel also designed nearby

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

(earlier The chapel of Annunciation). This hexagonal-shaped building used to serve as a family sepulchre. In early 19th century

orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very lar ...

Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...

was built.

Famous visitors

Among famous guests there were many European monarchs. The Emperor Karel VI. – visited the place twice (in 1723 and in 1732), king

Friedrich II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Si ...

(who shortly occupied Chlumec in 1742), the Empress Maria Theresa (in 1743).

Exposition

Original exposition '' Baroque in Bohemia'' was replaced with interior exposition that shows the history of the

Kinsky The House of Kinsky (formerly Vchynští, sg. ''Vchynský'' in Czech; later (in modern Czech) Kinští, sg. ''Kinský''; german: Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau) is a prominent Czech noble family originating from the Kingdom of Bohemia. During th ...

lineage and the history of

Kinsky horse The Kinsky Horse is a Czech breed of warmblood sport horse. It was bred by the Kinsky family in the Kingdom of Bohemia, and is now one of four warmblood sport horse breeds reared in the Czech Republic, the others being the Czech Warmblood, the ...

breeding.

Gallery

File:Jan Santini Aichel - Chlumec nad Cidlinou ground plan 2.jpg, Ground plan of the château File:Jan Santini Aichel - Chlumec nad Cidlinou ground plan 3.jpg, Ground plan of the château

Bibliography

*Mrázek, Jindřich, ''Česko-anglicko-německý slovník výtvarného umění'', Olomouc 1994. *Horyna, Mojmír, ''Jan Blažej Santini - Aichel'', Praha 1998. *Pinkas, Jaroslav, Pátková, Svatava: Karlova Koruna. Chlumec nad Cidlinou, in: ''Unikátní encyklopedie na pokračování''. Památky, Plzeň 2003. *Koch, Wilfied, ''Evropská architektura'', Banská Bystrica 2008.

External links

Castle homepage
at KinskyCastles.com {{Authority control Hradec Králové District Jan Santini Aichel buildings Baroque castle in the Czech Republic Castles in the Czech Republic Castles in the Hradec Králové Region 1720s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Châteaux