The beauty of the gardens and chateaus of Kroměříž
The main attraction of Kroměříž, the town nicknamed the Athens of Hanacko, is its archiepiscopal chateau, which along with the chateau gardens and flower gardens are on the UNESCO list of worldwide cultural and natural heritage sites. For hundreds of zears, the chateau served as a residence for the bishops of Olomouc, and a series of important events occurred within its walls. There are also many other sites worth seeing in Kroměříž, such as the pontifical mint, featuring a collection of church issued coins and medals, the Baroque Church of St. John the Baptist with its interior in Rococo style and the house with a Renaissance entrance section on Velké náměstí square, which houses exhibits of the Kroměříž Museum and a monument to Max Švabinský.
It is best to plan a trip to Kroměříž on a sunny day in the spring, since this is the best time to enjoy the beauty of the town's gardens. In the Kroměříž chateau, you can tour the historic chambers, the chateau library with its beautiful rococo interior containing 88,000 collections and a gallery of paintings with works from European painters from the 15th to 18th centuries. The unique assembly hall has been described as one of the most beautiful places in the Czech republic. The world renowned gallery with its rare collection of paintings from European painters from the 15th to 18th centuries impresses visitors with its works including its crown jewel and most valuable painting, Tiziano's “Apollo and Marsyas”.
The dominant attraction in the nearby town of Chropyně is its Renaissance chateau, which is associated with a legend about King Ječmínek. It also houses exhibits from the Kroměříž Museum and a monument to a Chropyně native, painter Emil Filla. Since 2009, the Baroque chateau in Holešov has also been open to the public. Its main attractions include a tour of its observatory and its park with a rich collection of decorative sculptures and its sophisticated network of water canals in the shape of the trident of Neptune.
What you need to see...
Archiepiscopal chateau in Kroměříž – It was the summer seat of the Olomouc archbishops in the past, contains a gallery of paintings and an extensive library and is a UNESCO landmark. Its assembly hall is often described as one of the most beautiful rococo interior spaces in the Czech Republic, and parts of Miloše Forman's film Amadeus were filmed there.
Chateau garden – Originally a productive and flower garden, it was transformed in the 17th century into a beautiful Baroque garden, architectonically linked to the front gardens of the chateau. Its rare plants and evergreens are complemented by its streams and ponds, its romantic small structures and its original decorative sculptures.
Flower garden – During the restoration of the town following extensive damage during the Thirty Years War, Italian architects Lucchese and P. G. Tencalla developed the lovely and later Renaissance garden on the once infertile and swampy land behind the bulwark. The Libosad park is divided by main diagonal axes; in the centre of the north section, there is a rotunda with grottoes and a Foucault pendulum, and the south section of the garden is divided into two rectangular fields with ponds, fountains and two artificial hills. The dominant structure in the flower garden is a 244-metre long colonnade with statues of antique deities, and there are also two labyrinths and a greenhouse with palm tree greenhouse.
Chropyně chateau – The folk legend about King Ječmínek is associated with this small town in the Haná plains. The local chateau houses exhibits from the Kroměříž Museum and a monument to Chropyně native painter Emil Filla (1882–1953), one of the most important representatives of European cubism.
Cimburk castle – This site contains the ruins of a Gothic castle with an observation tower located in the forests above the water reservoir near the municipality of Koryčany. Various cultural events are held throughout the year, including regular fencing tournaments.
Did you know that...
Kroměříž has the only Foucault pendulum in the Czech Republic
In the middle of the flower garden in Kroměříž, there is a rotunda with unique stucco decorations, which was built in 1671. In its centre there is a stone table, above which there is a 25-metre long cord holding the 30 kg Foucault pendulum demonstrating the Earth's rotation. The pendulum in Kroměříž, which was installed by an instructor from a local secondary school, František Náběrko, in April 1906, is a replica of a similar pendulum hung in 1852 in the copula of the Paris Pantheon by Leon J. B. Foucault (1819–1868). Due to the limited access to the rotunda, the pendulum is not regularly in operation, but it can be put in operation in certain situations. It is the first such demonstration of this type of equipment in the Czech lands.
2010-07-23
