Lednice castle

Lednice castle is a majestic, georgeous mansion, exactely the kind of a place you imagine, while listening to:“...once upon a time there was a magnificent castle...“
What you see during a tour in this castle is not original equipment. According to historical materials „it doesn´t correspond with its former splendour“. One can hardly imagine what it used to be like.

Landlords from Lichtenstein didn´t live in poverty. Majestic ground-floor spaces served as representative chambers, where guests and friends were invited. The first floor was furnished to live in – nowadays there is a separate sight-seeing tour „Knížecí apartmány“ (Princely apartments). The second floor, where children used to rule, is a picture gallery.

Lednice neighbourhood has always been popular among people. First farmers lived there four thousands years ago. Hand-in-hand with invention of money and the opportunity to show wealth, the original fortress became a castle. It was 17th century but it seems that owners sympatized with local prehistoric inhabitants, because they built an artificial cave with stalactites. Some made from a plaster, some ripped in Moravia carst. At the end of 17th century a ridding-hall was build by a project of a famous architecter J.B.Fischer from Erlach. The ridding-hall is nowadays the oldest well-preserved building of the castle.

At first the manor was in possession of  House of Sirotci, but they weren´t skilled in handling  so they lost their ownership quite fast. Lichtensteins got rich when they seized  fortune of noblemen executed at Staroměstské Square after the battle at Bílá hora. Lichtensteinś fortune greatened, thanks to their skills in business activities and  soon they gathered enough to build the unique castle. Bold plans of wealthy aristocratic families were crossed by French revolution. Panic-stricken aristocracy turned to dreamery and so it reflected in architecture. Family mansions were build to look medieval. This tendency is evident in all buildings of „Europian garden“. Lednice castle got its appearance in 1846 -1858. It was build-up, at that time, very modern English (so called Winsdor) Gothic.

At the end of  World War 2 and  following communistic nationalization a big part of original equipment suffered greatly. Lichtensteins took everything they could in 1943. The most beautiful portraits, valuable pieces of furniture, jewel boxes and trimmings ended  far in Lichtenstein. Fortunately they didn´t take along massive furniture, cut up stairs or pull down wallpapers. Due to it we can admire amazing staircase, carved from one piece of wood as well as original Chinese wallpapers decorated with motives of flowers, birds and Chinese people, that we can find on walls of Chinese cabinet.

You can hardly believe, that you marvel at a summer mansion. Aristocracy used  this monstrous fairy-taleish building just as a cottage. They came here in early spring , but for winter they returned to central site in Valtice. Despite of it, they had built in heating, luxury bathrooms, bedrooms, dinning rooms and ballrooms. Lichtensteins were proud of their numerous art collections and they displayed their trophies from Africa and Asia wherever it was possible. The Prayer tower became a cellar for oriental articles, the best items were placed in display cases of African and Chinese room. In 1996, Lednice has been enlisted in national heritage UNESCO, so it became worlds legacy.

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