Hluboká Castle (; ) is a historic

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, 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 re ...

situated in Hluboká nad Vltavou. It is considered one of the most beautiful castles 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 ...

Tourism

Hluboká is one of the most famous and most frequently visited castles in the country. As of 2019, it was the 3rd most visited castle with 293,000 visitors.

History

In the second half of the 13th century, a Gothic castle was built at the site. During its history, the castle was rebuilt several times. It was first expanded during the

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 ...

period, then rebuilt into 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 ...

castle at the order of Adam Franz von Schwarzenberg in the beginning of the 18th century. It reached its current appearance during the 19th century, when Johann Adolf II von Schwarzenberg ordered the reconstruction of the castle in the romantic style of England's

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. The Schwarzenbergs obtained the castle in 1661 when Johann Adolf, Prince of Schwarzenberg bought it from the heirs of Baltasar Marradas. They lived in Hluboká until the end of 1939, when the last owner (

Adolph Schwarzenberg Adolph Schwarzenberg (18 August 1890 – 27 February 1950) was a notable landowner, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was the eldest son of Johann (Czech: Jan) and Therese Schwarzenberg, née Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg. An outspoken opponent of ...

) emigrated overseas to escape from the Nazis. The Schwarzenbergs lost all of their Czech property through a special legislative Act, the ''Lex Schwarzenberg'', in 1947. Hluboká Castle is a National Cultural Monument of the Czech Republic.

Additional information

The original royal castle of Ottokar II from the second half of the 13th century was rebuilt at the end of the 16th century by the Lords of Hradec. It received its present appearance under Count Jan Adam of Schwarzenberg. According to the English Windsor example, architects Franz Beer and F. Deworetzky built a Romantic

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

château, surrounded by a English park here in the years 1841 to 1871. In 1940, the castle was seized from the last owner,

by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

and confiscated by the government of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The castle is opened to the public. There is a winter garden and riding-hall where the Southern Bohemian gallery exhibitions have been housed since 1956.

In popular culture

The castle has been used in a scene of the movie ''

Shanghai Knights ''Shanghai Knights'' is a 2003 martial arts action comedy film. It is the sequel to ''Shanghai Noon'', and the second installment of the ''Shanghai'' film series. Directed by David Dobkin and written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, it stars ...

''. The castle has also been used as a location for the Eastern Coven in the movie '' Underworld: Blood Wars''. In 2019, K-pop soloist Park Jihoon released his song L.O.V.E. and the music video was filmed in the castle.

References

External links

Official website
(in English)
Official website
(in Czech)
Town of Hluboká nad Vltavou
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hluboka Castle České Budějovice District 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 Schwarzenberg family