Slavkov Castle (also known as Austerlitz Castle; ) is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

palace in

Slavkov u Brna Slavkov u Brna (; ) is a town in Vyškov District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,300 inhabitants. The town gave its name to the Battle of Austerlitz, which took place several kilometres west of the town. The his ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. The town and the castle are chiefly known for the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV French Republican calendar, FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near t ...

History

The first castle at the site was erected by the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

in the early 13th century, then the seat of a

commandry In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

within their

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

bailiwick. In the early 16th century it passed to the

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

n noble house of Kaunitz who had it rebuilt in a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

style. The present-day palace with 115 rooms was erected from 1696 onwards according to plans designed by the Italian architect

Domenico Martinelli Domenico Martinelli (November 30, 1650 – September 11, 1718) was an Italian architect who worked for Carlo Fontana during 1678. He was an evident figure in the shaping of Baroque style in the North Alps. In 2010, a musical tribute called "Projec ...

. The conversion was finished under Prince Wenzel Anton of Kaunitz-Rietberg more than fifty years later. Wenzel Anton hired the painter Joseph Pichler to apply

fresco Fresco ( 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, the painting become ...

es in the chapel and the ceremonial hall of the castle. The impressive garden in a French style modelled on the

Gardens of Versailles The Gardens of Versailles ( ) occupy part of what was once the ''Domaine royal de Versailles'', the royal demesne of the Palace of Versailles, château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the Palace of Versailles, palace, the gardens cover so ...

was laid out in 1774. In the oval ceremonial hall (the "Historic Salon"), an armistice was signed between

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

after the

on 6 December 1805. There is a small historic museum and a multimedia presentation about the battle.Wilkinson, Don (2009)
''Daytrips Prague and the Czech Republic: 57 One Day Adventures on Your Own and by Car''
Hastings House, p. 208.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Vyškov District Castles in the South Moravian Region Museums in the South Moravian Region Historic house museums in the Czech Republic National cultural monuments of the Czech Republic