Castles of the Czech Republic: Czech Versailles - Ploskovice Palace
Seventy-six kilometers from Prague, amidst the picturesque hills of North Bohemia, lies a pearl of high Baroque - Ploskovice Palace - the summer residence of the last king of Bohemia.
The first written mention of Ploskovice is found in the charter of the Litomerice Chapter of 1057, where it is reported in Old Latin that a man named Paul donated part of the land of Ploskovice. This is now the place where St. Stephen's Cathedral in Litomerice was built.
In 1188, a knight named Groznat gave Ploskovice to the oldest knightly order in the world - the Sovereign Military Order of the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta, known to us as the Hospitallers. Founded in the early 12th century, to care for pilgrims to the Holy Land and the poor and sick in Jerusalem. In the 1150s, the order was invited to Bohemia and moved to its Prague headquarters. The Hospitallers built a preceptory (the order's residence) in Ploskovice. But the order was not doing very well, so they mortgaged their property every time they needed money. As a result, they sold Ploskovice in 1545.
Towards the end of the Hussite Wars (1410–1436), Pł oszkó w briefly fell into the hands of the Hussites, who turned the Hospitaller preceptory into a fort.
In 1496, the noble knight Dalibor of Kozojedi helped local peasants in a rebellion against his landowner, Adam Ploskovsky, who was notorious for his cruelty. Dalibor was sentenced to death for this crime against the feudal system. He was one of the first prisoners thrown into the new prison in Prague that now bears his name, Daliborka (now one of the towers of Prague Castle). It is said that during his imprisonment he learned to play the violin. Crowds would gather under the tower to listen to his improvised serenades and would send bags of leftover food to his cell by rope. A more somber version of this story suggests that the Czech word for "violin" is close to the word for "hrazda" - an instrument of torture. The songs that people heard may have been Dalibor's screams. He was executed in 1498, but his song of freedom lives on in the opera Dalibor by Czech composer Bedř ich Smetana, which premiered in 1868.
In the late 17th century, the wealthy, strong-willed German princess Anna Maria
Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg inherited the neglected estate of Pł oszkowice and began transforming it into a mini-Versailles – a lavish new palace surrounded by lush gardens, terraces, statues and fountains. She built a magnificent two-story mansion in the High Baroque style with Italian and Chinese influences, which were then in fashion. She decorated it with covered galleries and grottos for the entertainment of her guests. She personally supervised the construction and paid the workers weekly. When construction was complete, she burned the ledger so that her husband would never know how much she had spent (an estimated 1 million gold coins). This also means that we will never know the name of the architect who designed Pł oszkowice.
This castle became a monument to the disastrously unsuccessful marriage of Anna Maria to Jean Gaston, Duke of Tuscany. In 1697, Anna Maria, a widow with a daughter from her first marriage, married Jean Gaston de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, because his family needed a male heir and money played a significant role. But no heir was born. The couple lived together in Pł oskowice and Zakupy, another estate of Anna Maria, for only ten months. Jean Gaston fled to Prague because he could not stand the country life and his wayward wife. He complained about her "capriciousness, grumpy face and harsh words". Contemporaries described her as "more like a Bohemian peasant than a princess", "terrible and extremely fat", "unpredictable and prone to outbursts of rage". She believed that the Medici had a habit of killing their wives, and refused to move to Florence with the Duke in 1708. The couple never saw each other again.
The last Grand Duke of Tuscany was not a murderer, but he was a complex man. Raised in an extremely disadvantaged family, he early and deeply sank into melancholy, began to turn to the bottle. After his death in 1737, Grand Duchess Anna Maria led a secluded life in Pł oszkowice.
Pł oskowice suffered from neglect for a century after the death of Anna Maria. The estate was purchased in 1805 by the Austrian Habsburgs, who had ruled Bohemia since 1526. One of them, Emperor Ferdinand V, was crowned King of Bohemia in Prague in 1836 - the last coronation in Czech history. The Czechs nicknamed him "Ferdinand the Good" because he was quite gentle and good-natured, giving sweets to children and coins to the poor. But Ferdinand suffered from the unpleasant consequences of incest in the imperial family: epilepsy, hydrocephalus, neurological problems and a speech defect. People considered him a dim-witted fool, unfit to rule, but he spoke five languages, kept a diary, played the piano and trumpet, was interested in technology and heraldry, and managed to amass a large fortune during his lifetime. However, he was unable to cope with the uprisings that shook the Habsburg Empire in the 1840s. In 1848, he was forced to abdicate in favor of his 18-year-old nephew and future heir, Franz Joseph I. Ferdinand and his wife moved to Prague and chose Pł oskowice as one of their two summer estates. The palace not only needed major renovation, both inside and out, but it was too small for Ferdinand's large entourage. So it was completely rebuilt, a third floor was added, and it was reborn into the palace we see today. Arcades connected it to a new home for Ferdinand's cavalry and servants. Ferdinand, an avid botanist, spent three times as much money on his garden as on his house.
Before Ferdinand became emperor, one of his father's advisors had chosen a bride for him. Maria Anna of Savoy was born in Rome, the simple and kind daughter of King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia. She had seen only idealized images of Ferdinand and his family before she married him in Turin, by proxy, on 12 February 1831. But she had never met her husband in person, nor had she seen him until 27 February, the day of their wedding in Vienna. "Every time her eyes rested on the groom, he would fill with tears, " her daughter-in-law reported. There were no children, and Maria Anna became more of a nanny than a wife to Ferdinand. But she must have taken good care of him, for his health improved in later years. His diary refers to her as his "beloved wife, " and their marriage lasted 44 years, until his death in 1875 at the age of 82.
Pł oskowice has undergone significant political and social changes over the past 100 years. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed in 1918 at the end of World War I and the Czechoslovak state was formed, the palace became the summer residence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and hosted high-ranking officials from many countries. In 1919, a school for Czech-speaking children was founded in the east wing. Today it serves as a kindergarten and primary school for local children.
The region around Pł oszkowice was known as the Sudetenland. It did not fit easily into the new republic because of its affinity with its neighbor, Germany. Between World Wars I and II, the majority of its inhabitants were German. In 1935, two-thirds of the Sudeten Germans voted for the Czech-German (Nazi) Party, which launched an aggressive campaign to incorporate the Sudetenland into Germany. In a misguided attempt to prevent war, the leaders of England and France signed a treaty that ceded the Sudetenland to Germany and its Chancellor Adolf Hitler in 1938. It gave the Nazi war machine 66 percent of Czechoslovakia's coal, 70 percent of its iron and steel, and 70 percent of its electricity. Less than six months later, Hitler and his troops occupied Bohemia and Moravia. Pł oszkowice became a boarding school where young men underwent brutal training to become politicians, administrators, military and SS leaders, as well as ardent supporters of the Nazi regime and its ideology.
After the end of World War II, Pł oskowice was returned to the Czech government. During the communist regime (1948–1989), the palace and park were managed by the national heritage protection authorities. They began renovation of the entire complex between 1952 and the early 1960s, and then opened the palace to visitors for the first time in history.
You can only enter the palace with a guided tour. The tours are conducted in Czech. You can use a printout of the tour text in English (you need to ask the guide).
First we get to the large lobby,
If you look up, you can see Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, riding a chariot of shells drawn by horses.
Eight frescoes with cherubs and fountains repeat this theme. But in the time of Anna Maria Francisca it was a large terrace overlooking the park. The sky was its ceiling until Emperor Ferdinand and Empress Maria Anna crowned their castle with an upper floor.
The sandstone statues on both sides of the foyer were originally located on the roof of the castle, where they were replaced by copies. The statues on our left symbolize the four elements (Water, Earth, Air, and Fire); those on the right represent the four seasons. Very little is known about the artist (Jan Purš ) of these and other sculptures that adorn Pł oskowice.
The ceilings here and throughout the castle were painted by the famous Czech landscape painter who also created frescoes on the walls of Prague Castle, Josef Navratil (1798–1865), and his assistants. Navratil also designed the doors, handles, mirror frames, window valances, and other decorative elements of Pł oskowice. He used gold paint to paint the ceilings of the rooms in the palace.
An elegant staircase leads to two apartments: the Empress's rooms on the left and the Emperor's on the right.
The 11 rooms on the first floor of the palace are divided by the main hall into the rooms occupied by the Emperor and the rooms occupied by his wife, respectively. The interiors and original purpose of the rooms of these apartments have been completely restored, the furniture replaced with original ones.
First we enter the valet's room. The valet's duty was to provide a small service to the Emperor. The Emperor's wardrobe was prepared in a high cupboard, and the valet helped the Emperor dress and perform daily hygiene. The valet had to be in constant contact with the Emperor.
The next room is the Emperor's office. In the room you can see Ferdinand's original writing desk, since even the Emperor, who had abdicated, needed an office, mainly for private correspondence. The Supreme Court Master was in charge of official correspondence.
A graphic portrait of his wife, Maria Anna of Savoy.
Next we get to the dressing room. Here you can see a small prayer book for daily prayer, religious engravings on the walls. The chapel, which was used during the emperor's time, was located on the first floor of the castle, but, unfortunately, it has not survived. Ferdinand's wife, Maria Anna of Savoy, was also very religious. The emperor and empress were also known to the public for their charity. The couple were extremely popular. They made donations both to individuals and to various associations and institutions, especially to the church, the poor, the sick or people affected by natural disasters.
The Emperor's Bedroom. Since Ferdinand was bedridden most of the time due to his disability, this impressive bedroom surrounded him with material, mental, social and spiritual comfort.
When he looked up from his bed, he saw a beautifully painted ceiling with symbols of the times of day in the corners: morning - a rooster and a woman against a red sunrise; noon - a sleeping hunting dog and a woman with a sundial; evening - a drinking deer and a lady with a night star; and night - an owl and Queen Mab covering the earth with her cloak.
Through the window, Ferdinand could admire a giant oak tree (one of the oldest trees in the area). On the walls are large landscapes of Pł oszkowice and Zahradka Castle, which still adorn the walls. A painting of the Holy Family hangs above the bed.
The Imperial Salon. People who wanted to see Ferdinand met him here, spending time playing billiards or other board games. The ceiling showed four directions, each marked with a real semi-precious stone: green olenite to the north, red Czech garnet to the south, blue topaz to the east, and yellow opal to the west.
The ceiling, painted by Navratil, who also designed the ceramic fireplace and chandelier. The paintings in white and gold frames depict Ferdinand's nephew Franz Joseph with the beautiful Elisabeth, Empress of Austria, better known as Sisi. She was very progressive at the time, a fashion leader, and eventually became the heroine of books, films, plays, and even a ballet. She had tattoos and long, floor-length hair (where her son hid when he was a boy). Sisi was obsessed with beauty and exercise. Although she was 176 cm tall, she weighed less than 50 kg, and her waist was barely 41 cm. Hiking, horseback riding, and gymnastics kept her in shape, along with fasting and a very strict diet. An arcade connected this room to the house where Ferdinand's courtiers and friends stayed while he was in Pł oskowice.
Ballroom. This elegant room was intended for dancing minuets and waltzes accompanied by two or three musicians on a small balcony. Ferdinand used it as a dining room, and today this charming place hosts concerts and weddings. One can only imagine what it looked like at an 18th-century dinner party, when the mirrored tiles on the floor glinted in the light of the chandelier's candles, and the table reflected the clock in the center of the ceiling, which runs in reverse.
The paintings on the ceiling depict the world as it was perceived in the 1730s. The artist V. V. Rainer depicted Europe as a woman on a horse, America as a woman with a crocodile, Africa as a woman with an elephant, and Asia as Turkish soldiers with a camel (possibly because the Habsburgs often fought the Turks during the 16th–18th centuries). Four still lifes are by Josef Navratil, as are 36 oval medallions of fruit, alternating and hanging as if on ribbons. The sculptures above the doors are by the famous Czech sculptor Vá clav Levy: Motherhood and Hope (with an anchor) mark the feminine side of the castle, and Nature and Courage (with a sword) mark the masculine.
Anna Maria Franziska ascended to the ballroom in a personal elevator – the first in the Bohemian lands – which she installed for her personal use. Unfortunately, it was destroyed during the reconstruction of Pł oskowice by Ferdinand.
The next room is the empress's salon. The salon is decorated in the Rococo style. But it is very atypical. Not only is there a lack of strict symmetry in the design and arrangement of the furniture, some of this furniture is on wheels so that it can be easily moved.
On cold evenings, the ladies' armchairs could be moved closer to the ceramic stove. It is worth noting the Bö ssendorfer grand piano, made in Vienna in the 1850s. By the way, this manufacturer continues to manufacture grand pianos to this day. In total, three such grand pianos were purchased for the emperor to play in Zakupy and Pł oszkowice. The couple's hobbies, especially the emperor's, included music.
The ceiling depicts a celebration of travel and culture. Navratil's Paintings is a travelogue of romantic European tourist destinations, interspersed with portraits of favorite artists and authors: Rembrandt, Velá zquez, Angelica Kaufman, and Shakespeare.
The Empress's Bedroom. On the ceiling, Josef Navratil painted the four seasons in four square medallions and the heads of the goddesses Aurora and Diana in two gilded medallions, as symbols of dusk and dawn. The ceiling is also decorated with an original chandelier. The Empress was from Italy and always loved to return there. She sometimes did not accompany her husband during his summer travels, but whenever possible went to northern Italy. That is why the Venetian scenes here reminded her of home at least a little. It is very interesting that the greenhouses in Pł oskowice produced a large amount of pineapples, and Empress Maria Anna even sent them to Italy when she spent the summer in Pł oskowice. Pineapples, as well as oranges and lemons, were sold from the greenhouses in Pł oskowice to merchants.
In the niche is her preserved bed.
Next we enter the Empress's study. A portrait of Emperor Ferdinand overlooks this room, where his wife spends her time reading letters or embroidering.
The elaborate ceiling, which looks like a sculpture, is a masterpiece of Trompe-l'œ il from the French trompe-l'œ il - an optical illusion, written by Navratil. Among the bouquets and medallions are idealized portraits of Empress Maria Anna's favorite Italian artists - Benvenuto Cellini and Guido Reni.
The lady-in-waiting's room is furnished in the Biedermeier style (bourgeois romanticism - a trend in German and Austrian art of the 1830s and 1840s. Biedermeier is considered a transitional period between classicism and romanticism. In fact, it is the personification of German bourgeois culture). The lady-in-waiting was supposed to be close to the empress. In this room, next to the empress's apartments, she was engaged in wardrobe and preparation of hot drinks.
Next is the maid's room. The maid's bed is equipped with a special mechanism that transforms the bed into an ironing board. On the wall hangs a graphic image of Pł oszkó w Castle from the time of Emperor Ferdinand.
The tour lasts about an hour. You can check the schedule on the palace's official website. In addition to the main tour, I was interested in visiting the palace's grottoes. There is only one tour of the grottoes per day (it lasts about 20 minutes), so you should take this into account when planning your route.
The presence of grottoes refers to the Baroque era and Italian palaces. The Ploskovice Palace has three floors on the facade, and four on the park side. The lower level - grottoes - is a stylization of a cave. The grottos were used for relaxation in the summer heat. Guests or owners would descend into them directly from the palace and exit into the courtyard and park.
The grottos near Pł oskovice are the largest in the Czech Republic. Their seven fountains once flowed with wine on holidays. Usually the fountains were connected to a gravity-fed water supply system that flowed under the castle. However, this complex system had one drawback: impurities in the water often blocked the fountain nozzles. Today, fresh water comes from a well through a pressurized tank, and the system is fully automatic.
The fountains, which date back to the Baroque era, are works of art and engineering, especially the two southern ones.
The fish looks as if drinking from the ceiling. The fountain stands in a niche with a sloping opening that connects it to the large foyer.
The walls show the remains of 18th-century frescoes, and on the ceiling of the main cave are the coats of arms of the owners of Pł oskowice, painted in 1945.
It is better to get to the palace by car. I combined the two castles Veltrusy (you can read here https://www.turpravda.ua/cz/blog-491897.html) and Ploskovice in one day. But if you have enough time, it is better to divide the visits to these places.
