Table Of ContentChateau
KRATOCHVf LE
Chateau
KRATOCHVf LE
MlLENA HAJNA- PETR PAVELEC - ZUZANA VAVERKOVA
NATIONAL HERITAGE lNSTITUTE
CESKE BUDEJOVICE
2011
The publication was released as a part oft he NAKI -DFJ JPOJOW026 CONTENT
scientific and research project oft he Czech Ministry of Culture.
•
KRATOCHVfLE [9]
Vil em of Rozmberk [13]
Proofreaders:
Baldassare Maggi of Arogno [18]
PhDr. Zdenek Troup
PhDr. et PaedDr. Ales Stejskal, PhD. Game preserve [29]
CHATEAU INTERIORS [39]
Entrance Hall [43]
Hunting [47]
• Courtier Room [49]
Jan Zrinski's chamber [55]
Jan Zrinski of Zrin [57]
Bath [61]
Bathing and hygiene in the Renaissance period [63]
Bedroom and chamber of Chamberlain Hagen [64]
Chamber with arms [66]
Preparatory chamber [69]
Upper Hall [71]
Rozmberk music [73]
• Laboratorium [75]
Petr Vok's anteroom [77]
Petr Vok's chamber [83]
The cover features photographs of the Golden Hall Cupid and the Golden Room interior Petr Vok of Rozmberk [87]
of Kratochvile Chateau; photographed by Ales Motejl, 2011. Petr Vok's study [91]
Chamber of Vil em of Rozmberk and the Golden Room [93]
The endpapers feature a photograph of the vault in the Golden Hall in Kratochvile Chateau;
photographed by Michal Tuma, 2011. Golden Hall [99]
Dining [108]
On the frontispiece is a photograph of the front of the Kratochvile Chateau entrance tower;
photographed by Ales Motejl, 2011.
CHAPEL OF THE BIRTH OF THE VIRGIN MARY [113]
© National Heritage Institute Ceske Budejovice, 2011 Angels of Kratochvile [119]
Authors© Milena Hajna - Petr Pavelec - Zuzana Vaverkova, 2011
ISBN 978-80-85033-38-0
J
rm
,atochvile i, a ptactjul plauf illtd with j,ry, a hou"
in a landscape that testifies to the generosity, good taste and
sensitivity ofV ilem ofR oimberk, a former prominent magnate
oft he Kingdom ofB ohemia and ruler in the south ofB ohemia.
Kratochvile is a Renaissance jewel set in the impressive natural
/
surroundings ofh is domain.
Vilem commissioned his building at the time his namesake
William Shakespeare was writing a love story in England, the
poignancy of which has touched people's hearts across centu
ries and continents. At the same time in Spain, Cervantes was
sending his knight ofw oeful countenance on an immortal and
heroic pilgrimage.
This period produced new values, which are, as symbolic
messages, inscribed in the architecture of the chateau, its deco
ration, network ofg arden paths and reflecting water surfaces.
Kratochvile is a whimsical retreat from the rush of life,
a memory of a sunny Italian countryside; a special, sheltered
place, a nearly enclosed paradise on earth where time passes
with ease and life only shows its pleasant side. It was not by
accident that a love story was central to the creation of Kra
tochvile. The love oft he Roimberk ruler for the young Polyxena
ofP ernftejn is the story ofa search for happiness and the hope
that was discovered.
The magic oft he place continually revives the stories off or
mer chateau residents and the ideas ofi ts builder, the master
Baldassare. The power of Italian inspiration, love stories and
joyful energy produced the special Kratochvile atmosphere, pro
tected by the local fauns, angels and Roman heroes, who still
have something to say as long as we wish to listen.
Vojtech Troup, Castellan ofK ratochvile Chateau
9
,,,.
KRATOCHVILE
The word kratochvile (entertainment) in ancient Czech
evoked pleasantly spent times of amusement, thoughtful
ness and relaxation. So it is oflittle wonder that when Vilem
of Roimberk asked Emperor Rudolph II to grant official
fortress status (the name given to minor mansions in con
temporary terminology) to his new hunting chateau near the
town of Netolice, he decided to call it Kratochvfle. Vilem
modelled the chateau after the residences of Italian and
German princes near his main residence in Cesky Krumlov
to serve him and his guests for pleasure, the distraction of
hunting, and, in his own words relishing and luxuriating,
so that he could rest there after tiring diplomatic jour
neys. The placement of the chateau in a slightly hilly forest
landscape with open meadows and numerous ponds near
Netolice was associated with the quality of the local hunt
ing grounds, long used by the Roimberks for hunting and
chases, and also with the plan of the Roimberk regent,
Jakub Krein ofJelcany, who proposed the idea to his lord.
The first small fortress with a game preserve was built
by Jakub Krein at the same location of the present chateau.
In 1569 he received permission from Vilem ofRoimberk for
the lifetime use of the Leptic farmyard on the Netolice do
main, together with several surrounding villages and pieces
of lands. In the place of the farm buildings Krein built a new
one, which he ordered to be decorated with wall paintings
expressing hunting themes. He also built a minor game pre
serve for raising deer. In reconstructing Leptac, Krein had
his own plans. The parcels of land donated by Vilem stood
on the territory of the Netolice domain, and Krein knew
that the Roimberks and the Ziad. Koruna Monastery had
quarrelled over its ownership for several decades.
He stood to lose his property if the dispute was re-opened
of refined taste and contributed to the personal social representation of its owner.
and therefore attempted to obtain different holdings than
Vilem of Roimberk had already had the opportunity to get to know the Hackelberg
that ofLeptic, specifically the Sedlcany domain in the region
Renaissance hunting lodge near Passau in the 1550s. The lodge was built a few years
of Central Bohemia. He succeeded. When Krcfn showed
earlier by Bishop Wolfgang von Salm, who provided it with rugged gardens full of
the results of his construction activity in Leptac to Vilem of
fountains, flowers and water machines. Vilem knew this environment very well,
Roimberk, the ruler liked the place so much that he obtained
as he had spent his years of study under the bishop's care in Passau in 1544-1550.
it from Krcfn in 1579 in exchange for Sedlcany, and began to
When he went to propose to his second wife, Sophia of Brandenburg, in 1561, the
build a new hunting chateau there that he called Kratochvile.
Brandenburg elector let him stay in his completed Kopenick Renaissance hunt
Vilem of Roimberk probably had the idea of building
ing chateau near the royal town of Berlin. Vilem was also certainly inspired to build
a country villa of this type in his domain for a long time. He
Kratochvfle by the new summer residence of Maximilian II. Called Neugebaude,
knew buildings of a similar character well from his European View oft he villa
the emperor began construction in 1569, with the considerable interest of the lo
and the entrance
trips, where he was ofren invited and entertained by their no
cal aristocracy. The chateau, designed for relaxation, hunting and for courtly parties,
tower over the
ble owners. He realised that the ownership of an imposing
enclosed moat was built in the open landscape near busy Vienna, and included a large geometric
hunting chateau was perceived in aristocratic society as a sign
from the west garden with a pond, alabaster fountains, decorative moats and playful water features.
13
Vilem of ~imberk
(1535-1592)
Vilem was religious, fair, abstemious, ... peaceful, not
avaricious, and in political affairs he sought nothing more than
general welfare. He was especially fond off ine arts. He enjoyed
building, and due to this hobby he left landmarks behind ...
a very expensive and beautiful building in the Neto/ice game
preserve, with a new vaulted roofi nside, erected on piles due
to the soft ground, with bastions inside on all sides, a gate with
a tower, and rooms and lodging/or his servants,
proper and expensive, as well as a chapel.
Vaclav Brezan, Lives of the lase Rozmberks I, 371
~
ilem of Rozmberk was born in Schiitzendorf Chateau
in Upper Austria under the sign of Pisces on 10 March
1535, with a Gemini moon. The position of the planets
when he was born, according to the strong faith in as
trology at that time, affected his entire human life, and
blessed him with a responsible, just and enormously
devoted character. When he was four, his mother Anne
of Rogendorf was widowed and Vilem's uncle, Petr
V of Rozmberk, became the guardian of the Rozmberk
domain. He made sure that Vilem, as the future heir
of the Rozmberk name and heritage, received the best
education. Vilem of Rozmberk first studied for a brief
period at a private school in Mlada Boleslav. Then he
spent considerable time (1544-1550) studying with
Wolfgang von Salm, the bishop of Passau. Just sixteen,
he declared himself of full age and able to manage the
Rozmberk domain when his uncle died. The ancient
family origin, a large and economically profitable do
main, along with his personal skills, destined him to
a rapid social and political rise. Vilem began his career
by rehabilitating the Rozmberk family name and, dur
ing a dispute with the princes of Plavno, defended the
Portrait ofV ilem
privileged position of the Rozmberk rulers among
ofR oimberk,
circa 1560 the Bohemian nobility.
14 15
of the Kingdom of Bohemia, and
in 1566 Emperor Maximilian II
entrusted him with the com
mand of the Bohemian land
forces during the military cam
paign against the Turks, a con
flict in which Vilem lost his
brother-in-law, Nicholas Zrinski
of Zrin. A turning point in
Vilem of Roimberk's life was Alliance coat ofa rms ofVilem ofR oimberk
the year 1570, when he was and Polyxena ofP ernJtejn
appointed high burgrave of Prague; from that moment on and for the rest
of his life, he acted in essence as the deputy king of the Bohemian lands.
Thanks to his sensitive and moderate approach to solving religious issues,
he earned esteem and the respect of not only his fellow Catholics, but even
opposing Protestant aristocrats. Vilem of Roimberk demonstrated his excel
lent diplomatic skills in solving domestic disputes and as a member of the
emperor's missions, mainly to Poland and Germany. During negotiations
in Poland he achieved such fame among the local aristocrats that they
wanted to support him for the Polish throne. In 1585, King Phillip II of
Spain granted Vilem the prestigious European Order of the Golden Fleece.
The profits of the Roimberk domains and new business methods (founding of
ponds, aristocratic breweries and manor farming estates), along the payments
from flourishing Roimberk towns flowing into the family coffers, enabled
Vilem to lead a lavish life, make extensive renovations to his residences and be
Vilem ofR oimberk and his fourth wife, Polyxena ofP ern!tejn, 1589 a patron in the fields of science, music, literature and fine arts. The Roimberk
ruler also maintained a large court which, in addition to the ruler's family,
In 1551-1552 he set off with other aristocrats on a journey lasting several months included up to 230 courtiers, ladies-in-waiting, clerks, chamberlains, squires,
to the Apennine Peninsula to attend the ceremonial arrival of the wife of cooks, coachmen and other servants, scholars and artists.
Maximilian 11, Maria of Spain. Vilem was dazzled by the magnificence and Why Vilem enjoed good fortune in his political and diplomatic career, his pri
sophistication of Renaissance Italy and inspired by the local architecture vate life was not as blessed. Although he lavishly wed four times (the impe
and arts. Immediately upon his return to Bohemia, he launched work on the rial Princesses Catherine of Brunschwig in 1577, Sophia of Brandenburg
completion of the Roimberk Palace in Prague and the reconstruction of the in 1561, Anne Mary of Baden in 1578 and Polyxena, the daughter of his
ancient family residence in Cesky Krumlov. He entrusted this work to Ital political partner Vratislav of Pernstejn, in 1587), unions that made him
ian building masters, painters, stucco artists and stone-cutters. He also hired a relation of prominent Bohemian, Austrian, German, Spanish, Italian and
Italian artists for the construction and decoration of the Kratochvile hunting Polish nobility, he never experienced lasting family happiness, and he never
chateau within the Netolice domain, built in 1579-1590. lived to see the heir and Roimberk family successor he had longed for. He
From his entry into royal service as a young boy in 1550, Vilem was progressively died childless on 31 August 1592 in his Prague palace. His brother and the
named to prominent positions. In 1560 he was appointed high chamberlain last of the Roimberks, Petr Vok, became the head of the family.
