Blatná
Encyclopedia
Blatná (ˈblatnaː; ) is a small town in the South Bohemian Region
of the Czech Republic
, with a water castle
in the center of an artificial lake and a landscape garden
around it. It lies in a pleasant rolling countryside with a mosaic of fields, meadows and hundreds of ponds and nearly no industry.
Blatná is also the seat of the Municipality with Extended Competence and Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority within the same borders.
. There exists a legend that in those times the fortress was a seat of the Templars
who are said to have hidden a treasure somewhere in the castle. The only remaining construction from this period are the foundations of a Romanesque
chapel.
From 1391 the castle and then already existing town belonged to the house of Lvové (i.e. Lions) of Rožmitál. Under the new masters the fortress was for the first time rebuilt in stone (the oldest parts being the tower and Rožmitálský Palace) and the surrounding marshes were changed into wide water trenches, thus giving the castle the looks of "A swan sitting in a lake". Their long rule marks the golden age of this place. Lvové were continuously rebuilding and enlarging the castle, first with the so called Old Palace, standing separatedly over the remnants of the Romanesque Chapel. In 1523–1530, under the guidance of renowned royal builder Benedikt Ried of Piesting (or Benedikt Rejt of Pístov)
, a new palace in a mixed Gothic-Renaissance style was appended (it is named after Rejt these days).
In the second half of the 17 century, the castle was owned by the house of Šternberkové for a short time until it was bought by the Polish house of Rozdražovští of Rozdražov in 1579 who had a new Renaissance
palace built. During their rule, the castle and town were looted. The Baroque period is marked by the Hungarian house of Serényi who had the castle rebuilt (namely after the big fire in 1763) and also erected many statues in he town and its surroundings. They also completely rebuilt the church in Paštiky.
Since 1798, the castle has belonged to the Tyrolian house by origin of Hildprandtové of Ottenhausen, except the period of communist dictatorship (1948–1989) when it was confiscated by the state. In 1850–1856 the castle received its last rebuilt, in English Gothic style, which gave it its contemporary looks.
The castle is now being restored with most of the works finished. It is still open for tourists, together with the magnificent landscape garden.
(i. e. artificial water trench), which looks rather like a lake. The castle is narrow U-shaped, with a tower in front to which the palaces from various periods attach. It opens to a large landscape garden. Most of the castle has been recently reconstructed and it is open for public in the tourist season (April - October).
on an area of 42 ha
. The park was created as an English landscape garden at the beginning of the 19th century by František Hildprandt. Its part close to the castle surrounds a large meadow with very old solitary oak
trees. Beyond the meadow are preserved old woods with alleys, swamps, streams with footbridges over them, artificial caves
, remnants after placer mining
and an Empire-style
summer house. A herd of tame fallow deer
freely roams the park, which is open to the public year round.
Church of St. John the Baptist towering over Blatná some 2 km to the north. It stands on a place of an older parish church from the 14th century. It was completely rebuilt by renowned architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer between 1747–1752, on the order of countess Serényi. The church is a single-aisled building ended in a rectangular presbytery with richly decorated cornices in a Rococo
style. The carvings inside are by Ferdinand Ublacker, the paintings are by J. V. Spitzer
. It is currently undergoing a reconstruction. Next to the church is a cemetery with a Mortuary Chapel under which is the family crypt of the house of the Hildprandts.
with: Važec
, Slovakia Vacha
, Germany, from 1993 Sargé-lès-le-Mans
, France, from 2004 Roggwil, Switzerland, from 1993
South Bohemian Region
South Bohemian Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia...
of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, with a water castle
Water castle
A water castle is a castle or stately home whose site is entirely surrounded by moats or natural waterbodies. Topographically water castles are a type of lowland castle.There is a further distinction between:...
in the center of an artificial lake and a landscape garden
Landscape garden
The term landscape garden is often used to describe the English garden design style characteristic of the eighteenth century, that swept the Continent replacing the formal Renaissance garden and Garden à la française models. The work of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is particularly influential.The...
around it. It lies in a pleasant rolling countryside with a mosaic of fields, meadows and hundreds of ponds and nearly no industry.
Blatná is also the seat of the Municipality with Extended Competence and Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority within the same borders.
The Castle
Although the area has been inhabited since the 6th century, the first written record of Blatná dates back to 1235, when probably just a wooden fortress built on a rocky piece of land in the middle of a marshland (blata in old Czech, hence the name Blatná - A Marshy Place) existed. Not much is known about the castle until the second half of the 13th century, when it becomes the property of the house of Bavorové of StrakoniceStrakonice
Strakonice is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Estimated population: 24,000.-History:The settlement of this region took place in the second half of 12th century when a castle was built...
. There exists a legend that in those times the fortress was a seat of the Templars
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
who are said to have hidden a treasure somewhere in the castle. The only remaining construction from this period are the foundations of a Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
chapel.
From 1391 the castle and then already existing town belonged to the house of Lvové (i.e. Lions) of Rožmitál. Under the new masters the fortress was for the first time rebuilt in stone (the oldest parts being the tower and Rožmitálský Palace) and the surrounding marshes were changed into wide water trenches, thus giving the castle the looks of "A swan sitting in a lake". Their long rule marks the golden age of this place. Lvové were continuously rebuilding and enlarging the castle, first with the so called Old Palace, standing separatedly over the remnants of the Romanesque Chapel. In 1523–1530, under the guidance of renowned royal builder Benedikt Ried of Piesting (or Benedikt Rejt of Pístov)
Benedikt Rejt
Benedikt Rejt was a leading medieval architect in Bohemia, today's Czech Republic. He built Vladislav Hall in Prague Castle, St...
, a new palace in a mixed Gothic-Renaissance style was appended (it is named after Rejt these days).
In the second half of the 17 century, the castle was owned by the house of Šternberkové for a short time until it was bought by the Polish house of Rozdražovští of Rozdražov in 1579 who had a new Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
palace built. During their rule, the castle and town were looted. The Baroque period is marked by the Hungarian house of Serényi who had the castle rebuilt (namely after the big fire in 1763) and also erected many statues in he town and its surroundings. They also completely rebuilt the church in Paštiky.
Since 1798, the castle has belonged to the Tyrolian house by origin of Hildprandtové of Ottenhausen, except the period of communist dictatorship (1948–1989) when it was confiscated by the state. In 1850–1856 the castle received its last rebuilt, in English Gothic style, which gave it its contemporary looks.
The castle is now being restored with most of the works finished. It is still open for tourists, together with the magnificent landscape garden.
The Town
The settlement around the castle was promoted to a little town (městečko in Czech) probably around 1300. In 1601 it gained a full town status. The town burned down completely on 1834-09-13 - 118 houses, the town hall and the bell tower were destroyed and therefore most buildings in the town come from after that event.The Lords of Blatná
- 13th century legends: Templars or Johannites
- 13th century – 1391: Bavorové of Strakonice
- 1391–1541: Lvové z Rožmitálu
- 1541–1579: Rozdražovští z Rozdražova
- 1579–1695: the house of Serényi
- 1798–1948: Hildprandts of Ottenhausen
- 1948–1989: the state
- 1989 – today: Hildprandts of Ottenhausen
Geography
The town lies on the small river of Lomnice in a gently rolling area built of granite rocks, thus the soils are not very fertile. There are many granite quarries (for gravel and construction stones), some closed ones are now flooded and are they very scenic places. In past there were many marshes making the countryside even less hospitable. Since the Middle Ages, however, people have been transforming the land by building plethora of small to large ponds which now grace the area. The largest one is Labuť (i.e. Swan) at 108.5 ha (268.1 acre) some 5 km to the north-east of the town.The Castle
The castle is undoubtedly the town's greatest attraction. It is build on a rock surrounded by a moatMoat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
(i. e. artificial water trench), which looks rather like a lake. The castle is narrow U-shaped, with a tower in front to which the palaces from various periods attach. It opens to a large landscape garden. Most of the castle has been recently reconstructed and it is open for public in the tourist season (April - October).
- Romanesque Chapel - the oldest part of the castle dating back to the 13th century, it's preserved only as a part of the wall with two arches in the western part of the courtyard.
- Tower - the tower dominates the castle and it's the main entrance to it from the East. Its square shape with an overlapping half-timbered top part became the symbol of the town. At the beginning of the 16th century the famous Green Chamber (Zelená světnice) was created on the first floor. The walls of this room are covered in murals depicting various religious and secular motives. The prevailing color of the paintings gave the room its name. All around the room are also coats of arms of major Czech houses dominated by a large one of the house of the masters on the castle at those times, the Lords of Lvové of Rožmitál.
- Rožmitálský Palace - built at the same time as the tower, it connects to it from SW. On the first floor is the castle Chapel of Blessed Virgin Mary, whose Gothic presbytary protrudes from the body of the palace on the south side.
- Old Palace - from around the half of the 15th century is erected over the former Romanesque chapel. It's built in a late Gothic style, but its large windows already mark the coming of the Renaissance style. Originally, it stood separately to the north from the previous two parts.
- Rejt's Palace - is a unique combination of a late Gothic and the upcoming Renaissance style. It was built during the rule of Zdeněk Lev of Rožmitál, an important diplomat at the court of the Czech king Vladislav Jagellonský. It has large windows, richly decorated façade and a structured roof with wooden-tile ceilings.
- Rozdražovský (or Serényi) Palace - built first in the Renaissance style and rebuilt later in the Baroque style, it closed the body of the castle by connecting the Old Palace (through a lower utility building) with the rest of the castle buildings.
The Park
It spreads next to the castleCastle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
on an area of 42 ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
. The park was created as an English landscape garden at the beginning of the 19th century by František Hildprandt. Its part close to the castle surrounds a large meadow with very old solitary oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
trees. Beyond the meadow are preserved old woods with alleys, swamps, streams with footbridges over them, artificial caves
Grotto
A grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...
, remnants after placer mining
Placer mining
Placer mining is the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment....
and an Empire-style
Empire (style)
The Empire style, , sometimes considered the second phase of Neoclassicism, is an early-19th-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts followed in Europe and America until around 1830, although in the U. S. it continued in popularity in...
summer house. A herd of tame fallow deer
Fallow Deer
The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
freely roams the park, which is open to the public year round.
The Gothic Church
The Church of the Assumption of Mary lies next to the castle, at the end of the main square. It was founded around 1290 as a two-aisled building with a long presbytery, and small adytum on the north side. It gained its present looks in 1515 when a rebuilt was finished. It's surprisingly large for even then a rather small town, with its length of 37m and height of 16m.The Bell Tower
The Bell Tower (Zvonice in Czech) in its present location was first built in 1723 when a 44m tower was erected. It was destroyed with most of the town in the big fire of 1834 but was soon built again, at 52m of height.The School
A very large building from 1902–1904 which carries the name of J. A. Commenius. (J. A. Komenský in Czech), built by Karel Fiala, an architect who participated in the reconstruction of the Prague Castle.The Church in Paštiky
A unique BaroqueBaroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
Church of St. John the Baptist towering over Blatná some 2 km to the north. It stands on a place of an older parish church from the 14th century. It was completely rebuilt by renowned architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer between 1747–1752, on the order of countess Serényi. The church is a single-aisled building ended in a rectangular presbytery with richly decorated cornices in a Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style. The carvings inside are by Ferdinand Ublacker, the paintings are by J. V. Spitzer
Spitzer
Spitzer may refer to:* Andre Spitzer, Israel's 1972 Summer Olympics fencing coach and victim of the Munich massacre* Bernard Spitzer, father of Eliot Spitzer* Eliot Spitzer, 54th Governor of the State of New York...
. It is currently undergoing a reconstruction. Next to the church is a cemetery with a Mortuary Chapel under which is the family crypt of the house of the Hildprandts.
Famous residents
- Karel StrakatýKarel StrakatýKarel Strakatý was a Czech operatic bass who had a lengthy career at the Estates Theatre in Prague from 1827 until his retirement in 1858. While there he portrayed more than 253 roles in over 3,230 performances...
- operatic bass, first interpreter of the Czech national anthem - Jan Hála – painter
Twin towns — sister cities
Blatná is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Važec
Važec
Važec is a village and municipality in Liptovský Mikuláš District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia, at the foot of Kriváň, Slovakia's symbolic and often considered most beautiful mountain. It is a great place.-History:...
, Slovakia Vacha
Vacha
Vacha may refer to:*Acorus calamus, Vacha an ayurvedic medicine, mentioned in the bible*Vacha Dam, a dam in Bulgaria*Vacha , a river in Bulgaria...
, Germany, from 1993 Sargé-lès-le-Mans
Sargé-lès-le-Mans
Sargé-lès-le-Mans is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire in north-western France.-References:*...
, France, from 2004 Roggwil, Switzerland, from 1993