Duchcov Chateau
Baroque chateau with Casanova's library and Waldstein portraits.
Duchcov Chateau is a manor house in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic, protected as a national cultural monument. It houses a museum with historic furniture and the Waldstein family painting and portrait gallery, including works by Anthony van Dyck. One room is dedicated to Giacomo Casanova, who served as librarian here and wrote his memoirs, Histoire de ma vie.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Duchcov, Ústí nad Labem Region, Czech Republic
- Original construction
- 13th century fort by the Hrabišic family
- Baroque architect
- Jean Baptiste Mathey
- Notable resident
- Giacomo Casanova (1785–1798)
- Current status
- State-owned
- open to visitors
- national cultural monument since 2002
Facts from the source article.
History
The site began as a 13th-century fort built by the Hrabišic family, who resided at Osek Castle. After 1527, the Lobkowicz family replaced it with a one-wing Renaissance palace. In 1642, Marie Polyxena of Thalmberg, widow of František Josef of Lobkowicz, married Maximillian of Waldstein. Their son Jan Bedřich of Waldstein, later Archbishop of Prague, brought French architect Jean Baptiste Mathey to Duchcov to rebuild the residence. Mathey designed a large Baroque complex with a park and hospital, decorated by sculptors Matthias Braun and Ferdinand Brokoff and painter Wenzel Lorenz Reiner. Giacomo Casanova spent his last thirteen years here from 1785 to 1798. In the 19th century, the castle was rebuilt in Neoclassical style and the garden in romantic style. The Waldstein family left in 1921. The chateau is now state-owned and open to visitors, with its grounds serving as a public park.
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