Lipý water castle was probably built in the 13th century. The best-known owner of the castle was Jindřich of Lipá. Until the mid 17th century, the castle was the residence of the Berka family of Dubá, who had it rebuilt in the 17th century into a Renaissance chateau with a two-storey palace. In the course of time, the chateau was abandoned and it was pulled down in 1957. The relics of the original structures comprise a ruin with preserved cellars, parts of the bullwark, and a fragment of the second gate.
At present, the locality is used for cultural events, Passion Plays, etc.
The new exposition of the former water castle comprises a permanent display in the eastern wing, the reminder of a historic sugar factory and a memorial to the Jewish minority community in the town and its contribution to the town of Česká Lípa. Hence, the renovated premises around the former eastern gate let you imagine the atmosphere of the 19th century as the rooms were used by the director of the sugar factory.
The newly open expositions are equipped with furniture borrowed from the collections of the National Heritage Institute. As for the original facilities and equipment, there are two original stoves.
References:The Villa d'Este is a 16th-century villa in Tivoli, near Rome, famous for its terraced hillside Italian Renaissance garden and especially for its profusion of fountains: the extraordinary system contains fifty-one fountains and nymphaeums, 398 spouts, 364 water jets, 64 waterfalls, and 220 basins, fed by 875 meters of canals, channels and cascades, and all working entirely by the force of gravity, without pumps. It is now an Italian state museum, and is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Tivoli had been a popular summer residence since ancient Roman times due to its altitude, cooler temperatures and its proximity to the Villa Hadriana, the summer residence of the Emperor Hadrian I.
The Villa was commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este (1509-1572), second son of Alfonso I d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara and grandson of Pope Alexander VI, along with Lucrezia Borgia.