Un castello del Rinascimento italiano trapiantato in Boemia: arcate eleganti e pareti interamente coperte di sgraffito, la decorazione a graffio che disegna finti mattoni e scene. Nelle sue scuderie nacque nel 1824 Bedřich Smetana, padre della musica nazionale ceca.
At a glance
Litomyšl Castle is an outstanding example of the Italian Renaissance arcade castle adapted to Central Europe. Built in the 1560s–1580s for a Bohemian noble, it surrounds an arcaded courtyard and is covered almost entirely in sgraffito decoration, the scratched plaster technique that imitates brickwork and frames figural scenes. Later given Baroque additions, including a rare period theatre, it was the birthplace in 1824 of the composer Bedřich Smetana. It was inscribed by UNESCO in 1999.
Key facts
- UNESCO: World Heritage since 1999 (Litomyšl Castle)
- Arcade castle: an Italian Renaissance type built in Bohemia, 1560s–1580s
- Sgraffito: the façades and courtyard are almost wholly decorated with it
- Baroque theatre: a rare surviving 18th-century chateau theatre
- Bedřich Smetana: the composer was born here in 1824
- Builders: raised for the Pernštejn noble family
History
The lords of Pernštejn, among the greatest Bohemian nobles, built the castle at Litomyšl in the later 16th century, employing Italian masters to create an arcaded Renaissance residence on the latest model. Its walls were sheathed in sgraffito, every panel scratched into a pattern of false brick or a small scene, a vast and unusually complete display of the technique.
In the 18th century the castle gained Baroque interiors and a small theatre with its original stage machinery. In 1824 Bedřich Smetana, who would become the founder of Czech national music, was born in the brewery building of the castle estate, and the town honours him with an annual opera festival.
What you see
The castle’s long façades shimmer with sgraffito, each block of the false masonry scratched by hand, the gables and the arcaded courtyard among the finest of their kind. Inside, Renaissance and Baroque rooms lead to the little chateau theatre, complete with painted scenery and machinery.
In the grounds, the building where Smetana was born is now a memorial, and the town below keeps its arcaded square.
Practical information
- Castle: visited by guided tour, including the Baroque theatre
- Time needed: a half day for the castle and town
- Smetana festival: the opera festival fills the town each summer
- Note: the sgraffito is best seen in raking afternoon light
Getting there
Litomyšl is in the Pardubice region of eastern Bohemia, Czech Republic. It is reached by road or by bus and train via Česká Třebová. GPS: 49.872° N, 16.31° E.
Nearby
- Kutná Hora — the UNESCO silver-mining town, to the west
- Olomouc — with its UNESCO Holy Trinity Column, to the south-east
- Bohemian-Moravian Highlands — rolling countryside nearby
Sources
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — “Litomyšl Castle” (ref. 901)
- Národní památkový ústav — Czech heritage institute
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Bedřich Smetana
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