Hluboká Castle is a luxurious Czech Windsor
There are many beautiful castles and chateaux in the Czech Republic, but few that offer such a picturesque atmosphere, courtesy of the Schwarzenberg family magic, as Hluboká Castle. Some might say it has been "pirated from England", but if so, it is a masterful forgery.
Originally a gothic guard castle, it was rebuilt into a Renaissance chateau in 1563.
That is when the modern history of Hluboká Castle began to be written. One of the particularly significant periods started when Jan Adolf II. and Eleonora Schwarzenberg became the owners of the castle. Influenced by their travels around England, they had it transformed into the style of Windsor Royal Castle. The new buildings were built in the style of Tudor Gothic, and the main designer, Franz Beer, really outdid himself with the complicated interiors and exteriors. The chateau is surrounded by a park in a luxurious English style, situated on a hill above Vltava in the town of Hluboká nad Vltavou.
The interiors are richly decorated with carvings and lined with fine wood.
All movable furnishings are in luxurious quality, from painting decoration to paintings, chandeliers, stained glass or ceramics from Delphi. The largest room is worth seeing, if only for its breathtaking cassette ceiling. Visitors might also take interest in the armory or the chapel with a large late Gothic ark.
A stroll through the park will put you in a distinctively romantic mood.
In addition to the greenery, visitors can find here unique buildings reminiscent of the Orient that evoke the atmosphere of faraway lands. The water surface reflects a lookout tower - the Minaret. The whole complex is carefully maintained, to the point where you could easily imagine that a graceful rider on a proud horse or a luscious girl with her alabaster face obscured by an umbrella might appear here any moment. Time stands still in Hluboká; the castle is forever frozen in the state of its greatest fame.
By the way, did you know that one of the most famous Czech fairy tales - The Proud Princess with Vladimír Ráž as King Miroslav and Alena Vránová as Princess Krasomila in the main roles was filmed here?
