Historical Origins

Nelahozeves Castle was built for Florian Griespek of Griesbach (1504–1588), a Tyrolean aristocrat who served as the private secretary and close adviser to Emperor Ferdinand I. Florian commissioned several architects, including royal master builder Bonifaz Wohlmut and Italian craftsmen who worked at Prague Castle, to construct the Castle in the Italian Renaissance castello style. Florian’s ambitious new residence, which began construction in 1553 and took over 60 years to build, was planned as a two-story building with four wings and four corner pavilions resembling trapezoidal-shaped bastions—defining its authentic Renaissance style which remains uniquely intact today. After Florian’s death, his son, Blažej, inherited the Castle, and construction continued until the early 17th century. In 1623, the family’s financial difficulties forced Florian’s granddaughter, Veronika, to sell the encumbered estate to Polyxena Lobkowicz, née Pernstein (1566–1642). During the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648), the Castle was ransacked several times. Following the war, Polyxena’s son, Wenzel Eusebius, 2nd Prince Lobkowicz (1609–1677) and Chancellor of the Kingdom of Bohemia, reconstructed the building and used it for the administration and management of his estates. Despite its great beauty and noble character, the Castle never served as the family’s principal residence, unlike the Lobkowicz Palace in Vienna, and later, Roudnice Castle.

Architectural Features

Nelahozeves is an example of castello fortezza, a chateau-like home with faux architectural defenses such as decorative bastions and a moat-less entry bridge. This style, deemed very modern in the mid-16th century, is preserved today in the Castle’s authentic appearance given the limited number of structural changes made throughout the centuries. Also preserved, and partially restored, are the elaborate sgraffito decorations (a technique in which a top layer of color is scratched to reveal a colored plaster beneath) most dramatically covering the north wing of the building. These works, which depict scenes from ancient mythology and the Old Testament inspired by Virgilius Solis and Albrecht Dürer, are some of the building’s most impressive features. Of the Castle interiors, the most noteworthy are the Arcade and Knight’s Halls. The latter is a well-preserved Renaissance room with wall frescoes depicting larger-than-life military figures and ceiling decorations illustrating Titus Livius’ interpretations of five Roman virtues. Dominated by a stone fireplace, the room features a lunette vault with a center panel of nine sections, each boasting original stucco reliefs of delicate, elongated figures and separated by elaborate, stucco fruit festoons.

Recent History

In the late 19th and early 20th century, the castle was home to the Order of the Congregation of Daughters of Divine Love, a religious institution for unmarried and widowed noblewomen. It was sponsored and maintained by Princess Wilhelmina Lobkowicz (1863–1945), daughter of Moritz, 9th Prince Lobkowicz (1831–1903). Wilhelmina was buried in the village cemetery and was the last Lobkowicz to live in the Castle. The Castle was confiscated by the Communist regime in 1948. During the late 1970s and 1980s, it was used by the Central Bohemian Gallery to exhibit modern socialist art, as well as some of the Lobkowicz family’s paintings. In 1993, the Castle was returned to the Lobkowicz family during restitution and a temporary exhibition was immediately opened. In 1997, the first permanent exhibition, Six Centuries of European Art Patronage, was installed and featured some of the most significant works from the Lobkowicz Collections. The Castle’s current permanent exhibition was reinstalled in 2007 and is called Private Spaces: A Noble Family at Home. The opening was attended by former President Václav Havel and his wife, Dagmar, along with the prime minister and minister of culture of the Czech Republic.