Znojmo Castle is a castle in

Znojmo Znojmo (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian Region. The hi ...

in the

South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region (; , ; ), or just South Moravia, is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia. The region's capital is Brno, th ...

of 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 ...

History

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

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

, 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

Thaya The Thaya (, ) is a river in the Czech Republic and Austria, a right tributary of the Morava (river), Morava River. It flows through the South Moravian Region in the Czech Republic and through Lower Austria in Austria. It is formed by the conflue ...

against

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 ...

n 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 Town of Znojmo was founded by King

Ottokar I of Bohemia Ottokar I (; 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 (as hereditary) from ...

and the Znojmo castle became the town's stronghold, connected to the town 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 Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

. The Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I 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

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 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