Teplice Castle

The Benedictine monastery was founded in these places by Queen Judith in the first half of the 12th century. However, the nuns stayed here for only three centuries and then left the monastery, as it was severely damaged during the Hussite wars. This put the entire Teplice estate in secular hands. In the second half of the 15th century, a fortress was built here and about a hundred years later a castle began to grow on the remains of the monastery. The owner of the estate, Volf from Vřesovice, started building it. He first built the chateau church and then the main chateau building itself, today the south side of the chateau square. The Vchynský family finished the building in the Renaissance style and also built the left wing. After the death of the last member of the family in 1634, the chateau was acquired by the Aldringen family, who gave it its present appearance and also lived here until 1945, when the chateau fell to the state. Another baroque wing and a chateau theater were built under their ownership. At the end of the 18th century, the last major reconstruction took place, when the church acquired a Gothic appearance and the chateau was partially renovated in the Classicist style.

Today, the chateau houses the Teplice Regional Museum, which shows visitors an exposition of spas, the prehistory of northern Bohemia, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque art, Teplice ceramics and historical clocks. However, the tour also includes some valuable interiors of the castle rooms with period equipment. In the inner courtyard, the floor plan of the former monastery basilica with a Romanesque crypt is marked. The castle and the museum's collections are open all year round every day except Monday.

Author: Martina Limbergová