Červená Lhota Castle
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Červená Lhota () is a Renaissance castle in the
South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region () is an administrative unit (''Regions of the Czech Republic, kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western ...
,
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 ...
. It lies in the village of Červená Lhota in the
Pluhův Žďár Pluhův Žďár is a municipality and village in Jindřichův Hradec District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. The municipality is known for the Červená Lhota Castle. Administrative division Pluh ...
municipality, about northwest of
Jindřichův Hradec Jindřichův Hradec (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urb ...
. It stands at the middle of a lake on a rocky island. There is also a park, where the Chapel of the Holy Trinity is located.


Etymology

The village where the castle is located was originally called just
Lhota Lhota is a Czech geographical name. It is the most common name for villages in the Czech Republic. Geography There are 309 villages that contain Lhota or Lhotka (diminutive form of Lhota) in their name, which makes it the most common name of vil ...
. In the 16th century, it was called Nová Lhota ("new Lhota"). From the 17th century, it was called Nová Červená Lhota ("new red Lhota") after the castle, and then just Červená Lhota ("red lhota"). The castle's name Červená Lhota is explained by the colour of the castle's bright-red roof tiles.


History

The existence of an original fortress on the site of today's castle is assumed from sometime around the middle of the 14th century. It was built on a rocky granite outcrop, which, after the damming of a stream and the filling up of a fishpond, became an island. The first written source is an entry into the land records from 1465, mentioning the division of the property of the deceased Ctibor of Zásmuk between his two sons, Petr and Václav. The fortress might then have been sold into the ownership of Diviš Boubínský of Újezd, who in turn sold it to the knightly family of Káb of Rybňan sometime around 1530. The family had the original Gothic castle rebuilt and the basic Renaissance remodelling carried out between 1542 and 1555, and the castle acquired the name Nová Lhota. In 1597, it was sold to Vilém Růt of Dírná, who had the building rendered with red plaster, from which it got its name Červená Lhota. The last of the Ruts, Bohuslav, had to leave the Bohemian lands as an
Utraquist Utraquism (from the Latin ''sub utraque specie'', meaning "under both kinds"), also called Calixtinism (from chalice; Latin: ''calix'', borrowed from Greek ''kalyx'', "shell, husk"; Czech: ''kališníci''), was a belief amongst Hussites, a pre-P ...
after the 1620
Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...
. In 1621, Červená Lhota was inhabited by Antonio Bruccio, who died in 1639 without an heir. With his death, Lhota lost its function as a residence, and it was used by his successors as occasional cottage. In 1641, it was acquired by the aristocrat Vilém Slavat of Chlum and Košumberk, and later it passed into the hands of the
Windisch-Graetz The House of Windisch-Graetz, also spelled Windischgrätz, is an ancient Austrian aristocratic family, descending from Windischgrätz in Lower Styria (present-day Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia). The noble dynasty serving the House of Habsburg achieve ...
family. Bedřich Arnošt Windisch-Graetz and his son Leopold dragged the dominion into great debts due to their outdated style of economics, so the custodian of his under-aged successor Joseph Nicholas recommended the sale of the dominion. In 1755 the castle then was obtained by the Barons of Gudenus. Franz de Paul, Baron of Gudenus, shortly afterwards initiated several constructions, which were brought to an abrupt halt in 1774 by a great fire, which destroyed most of the agricultural buildings. In 1776, Červená Lhota welcomed a new owner, Baron Ignác Stillfried, a progressive aristocrat of
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
, who from 1796 accommodated the composer
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (2 November 1739 – 24 October 1799) was an Austrian composer and violinist. He was a friend of both Haydn and Mozart. (webpage has a translation button) His best-known works include the German singspiel '' Doktor un ...
at the castle. His son sold the dominion to Jakub Veith in 1820. His daughter Terezie sold the castle again in 1835, this time into the princely hands of Heinrich Eduard von Schönburg-Hartenstein, who gave the castle to his son Josef Alexander von Schönburg-Hartenstein. He died in 1937 and was buried in the newly built tomb, and thus spared the destructive events of the new war, which ended the castle's aristocratic history. After the
Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...
state confiscated the building in 1946, a children's clinic was established there. A year later, the castle was granted to a National Culture Commission, and in 1949 it was opened to the public.


Description

The four-winged two-story castle, with a small courtyard in the center, occupies the whole rock and juts into the fishpond. A stone bridge, built in 1622, links the castle with the banks of the pond, replacing the original
drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...
. The interiors have an extensive collection of historic furniture, tiled stoves, pictures, porcelain and other items. The southern edge of the fishpond is covered in thick forest, which forms a backdrop to the castle. On the northern side is a landscaped park where the Renaissance Chapel of the Holy Trinity is situated. A marked circular path trenches around the fishpond. Rowing boats can be hired near the castle.


Tourism

Červená Lhota Castle is a tourist destination of regional significance. It is visited by approximately 50,000 visitors per year.


Gallery

Cervena Lhota entrance.jpg, Entrance Cervena Lhota - rear view.jpg, Rear view


References


External links

*
Červená Lhota
on
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cervena Lhota Castle Jindřichův Hradec District Renaissance architecture in the Czech Republic Water castles Castles in the South Bohemian Region Museums in the South Bohemian Region Historic house museums in the Czech Republic National cultural monuments of the Czech Republic