Veltrusy

Veltrusy is a really small town 20km north-west of Prague, but what makes it special is its large Chateau of the same name. I have been wanting to see it for the past year. This afternoon a friend and I took the 40 minute bus ride from Kobylisy to this town to explore the Zamek(Chateau), gardens and its associated Park. It is one of the most remarkable examples of the high Baroque style to be found in Bohemia.

This estate was the Summer seat of Count Rudolf Chotek and his family. It is built on a large island on the right bank of the Vltava river. The island(read: estate) was transformed into a 300 hectar park dotted with small Empire, Neoclassical and Romantic figures/artwork/structures. There is also a fallow deer preserve adjacent to the estate.

This Baroque "Castle", actually a Chateau, was built in 1734 by Count Chotek. The ground plan of the castle is interesting – four wings create a cross and meet under a tall cupola. The estate holds fenced in pastures, sculptures, pavilions, gardens, fruit tree groves and a farm.

The Chateau itself was heavily damaged in the 2002 floods(8 years ago) which immersed the entire island and flooded the entire first floor to the ceiling of the Chateau and all of its buildings. It is painfully slowly being restored.