Kacina Palace, Kutná Hora, Czech Republic

Kačina is a significant empire style palace built in place of the defunct medieval village Kačín. It was built as a prestige mansion of the supreme burgrave of the Kingdom of Bohemia and president of governorate Jan Rudolf Chotek (1748–1824) from 1806 to 1824. The architectural scheme was drawn up by Saxon royal architect Christian Franz Schuricht (1753–1832) from Dresden. Johann Philipp Jöndl (1782–1870) and in the last few years also had controlled running the construction. He also eminently influenced the final appearance of the castle.

Functionally the castle is divided into three parts. The main building with exquisite halls and the residence of earl family, then two quarter circle adjacent lower wings with pillared colonnade where the guest rooms were situated. To those wings were connected other pavilions. In the right one is situated never finished mansion chapel and theatre which were finished in the first half of 19th century.

In the left one there is a Chotek's extensive library dated from 16th to 19th century. The castle is surrounded by vast park that was founded already in 1789 according to the plan of famous Viennese botanist Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin (1727–1817), it was completed thirteen years earlier than the castle itself.

References:

Wikipedia

Gravensteen

The Gravensteen is a castle in Ghent originating from the Middle Ages. The name means 'castle of the counts' in Dutch. Arnulf I (918–965), Count of Flanders, was the first to fortify this place, building a medieval bastion on this high sand dune, naturally protected by the river Leie and its marshy banks. This bastion consisted of a central wooden building and several surrounding buildings, also in wood.

In the early 11th century, the wooden building was replaced by a stone residence, consisting of three large halls that made up three storeys, connected by a stone stairwell. The monumental stone staircase, the light openings, the fireplaces built into the walls and the latrines were signs of considerable luxury and comfort in those days. There was probably also a tower.

MOUD Najjar (4 years ago)
A place to visit

Jiří Žaloudek (4 years ago)
Nice exhibition of historical crafts and very complex exhibitions of agriculture including historical and knowledge interactive game for kids. Recommend to visit with kids!

João Anastácio (4 years ago)
Really pretty palace, great gardens. They have a short leaflet in English but the guide won't understand any English word so if you don't speak Czech don't get high expectations.

Kacina Palace

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Gravensteen