Kuks
Surely you like to visit Kuks. The original owner of the Kuks chateau was Count František Antonín Špork. The chateau building was founded in 1710 - during the reconstruction of a wooden spa building in the Kuk complex. The castle adorned the left bank of the Elbe and its interior was entered by a staircase, where you got from the bridge over the river, which connected the castle and the hospital building. It had two floors. On the first floor there were four living rooms and a large hall with nice stucco and frescoes. The ground floor belonged to another large hall and ten bathrooms.
Information for visitors
Interesting facts Kuks
However, the construction of the chateau is not one of the magnets for visitors to the unique Baroque complex, because it fell into disrepair during the 19th century, and in 1901 it was demolished. You can look at the opposite Hospital Kuks and also at the place with the remains of Bethlehem in the forest above the village Žíreč. Drive to the former monastery with a hospital in the area between the Giant Mountains and the city of Hradec Králové. In the past, it not only served the sick, it housed a care institute for retired soldiers and also a convent of merciful brothers at the Church of the Holy Trinity.
Even before the establishment of the picturesque center of Baroque art, the local landscape was talked about in connection with springs with healing power and gold mining. Count Špork had the rainy springs judged by experts, and after a positive result, the valley was transformed into a summer courtyard for the nobility with a spa and various social events. At present, in Kuks you can see the count's tomb with buried representatives of the Špork family, a baroque pharmacy, a former hospital hall, a church, a sacristy and the local museum will introduce you to the development of pharmacy from the Baroque period to the 20th century. For example, you will see medicines, containers used in research and pharmacy, and you will not escape a collision with mummies, centipedes and cockroaches. Do not forget to walk along the forest path to the forest Bethlehem with beautiful allegorical statues by Matthias Bernard Braun.
Author: Petra Nachtmanová