Znojmo castle
Znojmo Castle, proudly stands on a rocky promontory above the confluence of the river Dyje and Gránický brook. This place is located in the western part of the historic center of Znojmo in Hradní street. Come here to admire not only the castle itself, but also the beautiful view of the valley.
Information for visitors
Interesting facts Znojmo castle
The construction of the castle began in the second half of the 11th century, when the Moravian and later Czech prince Konrád I and his son Litolt had a wooden-clay castle built here. His main task was to guard the trade route leading from Austria to the north. Not even the place itself on the rocky promontory was chosen by chance, because it was an ancient cult place. The castle did not have it easy, because at the beginning of the 12th century it suffered from disputes between the Czech and Moravian branches of the Přemyslids. At that time, coins of the principality of Znojmo were minted here in the mint, and the Moravian margraves Konrád Ota and Vladislav Jindřich also lived here, who had it rebuilt into a stone castle.
The seat played an important role during the Hussite wars, when it was the support of the king and then the emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg, who also died here in 1437. From the second half of the 15th century, however, the castle was often stopped by the Czech kings and bought again, which badly affected it, and in the 17th century it was already partly in ruins. The front part of the castle was subsequently bought by the townspeople, who founded a brewery here in 1720. At that time, the then owners of Deblínová had the old castle palace demolished and a new Baroque chateau built instead. After the death of the last of the Deblín family in 1784, the castle fell to the emperor, but this was far from having its former significance. Soon all of its inventory was sold out, and throughout the 19th century the buildings served only as a barracks and a military hospital. At the beginning of the 20th century, the city of Znojmo established museum premises here and the castle thus received attention again.
Today, you can see the rooms furnished as the early modern society lived. The museum's collections include period furniture, as well as rare oriental objects and other attractions. The Deblín Chapel or the Gallery of Habsburg Monarchs in the Imperial Hall is also beautiful. Part of the castle is the adjacent Rotunda of St. Catherine, a rare Gothic monument.
Author: Martina Limbergová