One of the main attractions of this season at castles and chateaux is the continuation of the project In the Footsteps of Noble Families. It will develop in 21 monuments that are connected with the Habsburgs, to whom the project will be dedicated. “The main buildings of this year will be the state castles of Zákupy, Ploskovice and Konopiště,” Blanka Černá, spokeswoman for the National Monuments Institute, said in an interview with Deník.
Why were the Habsburgs chosen for the project In the Footsteps of Noble Families this year?
In this project National Monuments Institute (NPO) already in its 14th year, it represents the legacy of the noble families of the lands of the Czech Crown, whose former residence the NPÚ manages. Each year it focuses on a specific genus or theme. This year, our goal is to present how the Habsburgs and especially representatives of the Tuscan royal line lived in Bohemia and Moravia in the 18th and 20th centuries and how they adapted the inherited or purchased mansions to their tastes and preferences. We focus on those family members who lived in Bohemia and Moravia for a long time and had their background and homes here.
Castles open their gates. The new season will reveal the life of the Habsburgs
Which monuments will be the imaginary flagship of this year?
The main buildings of this year will be the state castles of Zákupy, Ploskovice and Konopiště. They are united by the beauty, authenticity and extraordinary preservation of the castle interiors. Family suite Francis Ferdinand d’Este it represents the original home in Konopiště with everything, with all the equipment of the rooms inhabited by the five-member Habsburg family. Purchases and their interiors from 1850 reveal to visitors the original painted ceilings, valuable paper wallpapers, original parquet floors or original curtains on the windows from the 19th century. The Ploskovic reinstallation of the main circuit, which we will present during the holidays, has the ambition to return the interiors to the form known to exciseman Ferdinand V. Dobrotivý. The rooms on the first floor will correspond to their original form and represent the private interiors of high members of the Habsburg family in a dignified manner.
Excise Emperor Ferdinand I. Dobrotivý (as King of Hungary and Bohemia Ferdinand V. Dobrotivý).Source: Wikimedia Commons, Eduard Edlinger, free work
What other treats will the project offer?
At Zákupy, the National Heritage Institute will present three newly installed rooms included in the winter tour route. Konopiště Castle will offer a series of evening tours from April to November 2024 focusing on the most important Habsburgs. The route will lead through rooms that are not normally accessible. The National Heritage Institute will also publish a specialist publication on the Ploskovice and Zákupy castles.
Will the project this year also concern any partner buildings that are not under the administration of the NPÚ?
Cities and institutions that own former Habsburg residences, such as Buštěhrad, Ostrov, Brandýs nad Labem or Židlochovice, will also be involved. Administrators of these monuments will open their extraordinary locks for the public on selected days. In cooperation with partners, the project will offer, for example, a ride on a historic train with an attached saloon car of the František Ferdinand d’Este family.
Exhibits of Czech castles are moving. The National Institute of Monuments is assembling furniture
What other extraordinary events will the monuments under the administration of the National Archives of the Slovak Republic offer this year?
The traditional Castle Night, which is the culmination of the visitor season, will take place this year on August 24. On this night, the monuments are illuminated by the light of candles, fireworks, but also bonfires in some places.
Can you add a tip, which castle or chateau visitors should definitely not miss visiting in the coming season?
We would invite the reader to state castle Lysice to the restored gardens. The total reconstruction of all horticulture buildings, including a unique technical monument – a fig house with a sliding roof, ended there.
