Lobkowitz Chateau

At the beginning of the second half of the 16th century, during the reign of Jan Tarnovský of Tarnovo, Italian masters built the east wing, adjoining the round tower forming the eastern end of the castle. Further building followed after the takeover of the chateau by Vilém of Rožmberk in 1575. His fourth wife, Princess Polyxena of Pernštejn, remarried in 1603 to Zdeněk Vojtěch Popel, 1st Prince of Lobkowicz, after her husband's death. After their marriage, the castle was further expanded and the couple had a new west wing built. This gave the castle grounds its typical closed trapezoidal base-shape.

A completely new building age came under Václav Eusebius, 2nd Prince of Lobkowicz. He decided in 1652 for a radical reconstruction of the original complex. The first of the invited Italian architects was Pietro Colombo, who carried out repairs to the existing complex. Subsequently, Francesco Caratti designed a regular four-wing plan around an enclosed rectangular courtyard. However, he participated only in the preparatory work and in the construction of the lower floors of the east wing. He was replaced by Carlo Orsolini, who soon died. Antonio Porta (1668) took over the construction supervision after him. He led the successful completion of the construction begun in 1652 in 1684.

The castle was furnished with very valuable furniture. The chateau also included the Lobkowicz Library, to which the famous collection of manuscripts by the humanist Bohuslav Hasištejnský of Lobkovice, the Lobkowicz Family Archive and art collections, which included an excellent collection of weapons, an extensive collection of Italian and Delft faience, porcelain, silver, glass, miniatures and furniture, were relocated in the 17th century. The chateau also housed the famous Roudnice collection of paintings, which was created by combining the Rosenberg, Pernštejn and Lobkowicz picture galleries, with an excellent collection of portraits by Spanish, Dutch and Central European painters.

During the Second World War, the castle served as a barracks for the German army, followed by the Czech army. Roudnice nad Labem Castle was returned by restitution in 1992 to the original owner Martin Lobkowicz. Until 2008, the military conservatory was located here.

More information about the tours of the chateau and the castle.