Světlá nad Sázavou (chateau)

The history of the Světlá nad Sázavou castle dates back to the Middle Ages, when Štěpán of Šternberk had a Gothic fortress built on the left bank of the Sázava River in 1393, protected by moats.

In 1429 the light estate of the Trček family from Lípa fell and in 1567 Burian III left it. Trčka z Lípy rebuilt the existing fortress into a hunting lodge in the Renaissance style. The preserved Latin inscription dates from this period, above the portal on the south façade, which reads in Czech: "There is no room in this world, Burian Trčka of Lípa, the first imperial chamber, 1567". The Trčeks lived here until 1636, when their property was confiscated and passed to the royal chamber. After the Thirty Years' War, several owners changed here. Jan Bartoloměj of Vernier has been important since 1668, as he extended the light castle by the present-day eastern wing.

In 1722, the chateau became the property of the Černín family. František Antonín Černín continued to make further alterations to the chateau in the Baroque style. The east wing was enriched with sculptural decorations, arcades on the first floor and family coats of arms. The castle park also underwent construction modifications.

Another reconstruction took place in the years 1774-1775, when the Kolovrat Krakovský family worked at the chateau. In 1809

the castle ceased to serve its original purpose, and for a time it turned into a military hospital.
The new owner of the chateau was Count František Josef Zichy in 1817, who closed the chateau courtyard and carried out building alterations in the Empire style. He had the Knight's Hall and the other rooms on the first floor decorated with stucco.

In 1821, the castle became the property of the Salm-Reifferscheid family. In 1869, they invited the Viennese architect Svatoš to rebuild their residence, whose task was to adapt the chateau with regard to the original artistic styles. Only to the west wing he added a turret in the Neo-Renaissance style, a balcony above the main entrance and replaced the windows in the courtyard with a number of arcades.

With Svatoš's reconstruction, the chateau gained its present appearance. A one-storey historic building with four wings was built, which encloses a rectangular courtyard with a fountain. There are clear Neo-Renaissance, Classicizing or Empire elements on the building.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Land Bank settled in the chateau. Soon after, the castle became the property of the factory owner Richard Morawetz. However, he had to leave Bohemia before the war, so the German crew used the castle for their purposes. Since 1949, a secondary agricultural school has settled in the chateau, which remained there until 2011. Now the chateau is the property of Zámek Světlá s.r.o., which bought the monument from the town and makes it accessible to the public.

Author: Světlá nad Sázavou Chateau