Chateau
The original castle from the 13th century was reconstructed in the middle of the 16th century and in the years 1580 - 1583. The tower above the gate was finished in 1744. The grandfather of poet R.M. Rilke, F. Rilke, had the chateau reconstructed at the beginning of the 19th century. The chateau was reconstructed fundamentally in the Classicist style in the years 1839-1842 by Jacob Rudolf Geymüller and it was due to this reconstruction that the chateau lost its Renaissance character. The chateau is surrounded by an English park with a lime tree (700 - 800 years old) which gave Kamenice its name.
In the period 1945-1998 the chateau housed a children's sanatorium and in 1998 the chateau administration was taken over by the Arts & Crafts Museum in Prague that used it to store its collections. Given the new mission of the chateau which was listed as an important cultural monument, an extensive reconstruction had to be started. This was preceded by conservation (in 1998/1999) and structural-historical research carried out by the renowned expert doc. Jiří Škabrada, who clarified the development phases of the building.
For instance, the oldest construction phase - the medieval castle of the lords of Kamenice - was quite unclear. The location of the original chapel, the shapes and the number of castle towers and the existence of the main hall with painted riding scenes still remain to be found. The research of wall paintings did not satisfy the expectations concerning the existence of frescos; fragmented Renaissance paintings were only found in some halls on the first floor. The ground-floor paintings were probably removed during the Classicist reconstruction. In contrast with the research of paintings, the demolition works of the latest additions brought interesting discoveries. In the western wing, under the plaster, a well-preserved Gothic granite portal from the end of the 15th century, confirming the extent of the then construction, was found. Another discovery was the existence of a large Renaissance hall in the eastern wing, supported by two central columns. A large Gothic hall used as a boiler room for the sanatorium will be reconstructed in the basement of the northern wing.
The Arts & Crafts Museum decided to establish study depositories in the chateau providing access to chateau visitors and to use the new rooms for expositions. For the starting season, the Arts & Crafts Museum prepared an exposition of blacksmith's works of art from the 16th until the 20th centuries located in the unique Renaissance hall. In the next years, the museum intends to extend its standing exposition and to establish several study depositories accessible to the public (metals, furniture). The second exposition is focused on the Toys from the ACM collections that will please both children and adult visitors with shows of historical toys divided thematically into boys' and girls' toys from the end of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century. Another standing exposition is the exhibition titled The Past and the Future. Through reproductions of preserved documentation, the exposition outlines the brief history of the chateau and of the town of Kamenice nad Lipou, reminds the former owners, maps out the chateau construction development, and presents the last structural-historical research executed in the years 1999-2004.
The Town of Kamenice nad Lipou was provided with the rooms in the southern wing of the chateau for the Town Museum. An exhibition of the Kamenice museum collections titled "Museum for All Senses" (eyesight, touch, hearing, smell and taste) will be presented here.
Opening hours for the public:
Season - May to September:
Tuesday - Sunday 10:00 - 17:00
Off season - October to April:
Tuesday - Sunday 10:00 - 15:00
Entrance fee:
Regular - 40,-
Reduced - 20,-
Family - 60,-
Contact:
Uměleckoprůmyslové museum v Praze
Zámek Kamenice nad Lipou
Nám. Čsl. armády 1
394 70 Kamenice nad Lipou
Tel.: 565 432 667
E-mail: zamek.kamenice@upm.cz
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Town - Municipal Office