THE CHATEAU

Roztoky Chateau has a rich history, and has undergone many changes over the

centuries. At the end of the 13^th century or the beginning of the 14^th century

a stronghold was built on the bank of the River Vltava. A square keep stood in

circular fortifications, and the foundations of the keep are traced in the paving in

the courtyard. At the end of the 14^th century two brothers living in Prague,

Eberhard and Reinhard of Reims, had a new palace with two towers and a chapel

built on the site of the earlier fortifications. The chapel’s oriel has been preserved.

At the turn of the 16^th and 17^th century the Boryně knights of Lhota converted the

stronghold into a renaissance chateau, which underwent alterations in the 18^th

century that have given the chateau its present appearance. Arcades were built

around the perimeter of the courtyard, a turret was placed above the oriel, and

a farm was built with a malthouse, barn and stables on the land in front of the

chateau. Parts of the farm have survived to the present day. In the 19^th century an

English garden was created with rare and foreign tree species. Between 1965 and

1974 statues from the 17^th to 19^th centuries were installed on the site, and

sculptures by Hedvika Zaorálková were placed in the park. The medieval

stronghold is recalled by the moat and the pulleys and weights of the original

drawbridge at the gate, and by the stone flanning in the courtyard. The chateau

was modified for the museum’s needs at the end of the 1950s and subsequently

in the 1960s and 1970s.

The chateau suffered flood damage in summer 2002 and preparations are

currently underway for its reconstruction.