World Heritage Photos

Between 1568 and 1581, the medieval Litomyšl Castle was rebuilt into a Renaissance castle, it is one of the best examples of Renaissance architecture in the Czech Republic. Litomyšl Castle is a Renaissance arcade-castle, a type of building that was developped in Italy and later adopted and developed in Central Europe during the 16th century, the arcades of Litomyšl Castle are one of the most typical features of the Renaissance style, the sgraffiti decoration on the walls of the castle is also typical for the Renaissance style. There is also a Renaissance chapel in the castle. Despite of later reconstructions in the 18th century, the appearance of Litomyšl Castle remained almost intact. The rooms of Litomyšl Castle have Baroque and neoclassical plasterworks, wall and ceiling paintings. In the court and in the park of Litomyšl Castle are preserved the ancillary buildings, such as stables, a garden pavillion and brewery, in this brewery the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana was born in 1824. One of the highlights of Litomyšl Castle is the neoclassical theater. There are only five theaters of this kind left in the world one in Russia, one in Litomyšl Castle, two in Sweden and one in Český Krumlov, also in the Czech Republic. Litomyšl Castle gained the status as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1999.

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   Litomyšl Castle: A Renaissance sgraffito decoration of a sundial on the south wall. The façades and walls of Litomyšl Castle are adorned with Renaissance sgraffito. In the sgraffito technique, the plasterers at first put a layer of plaster on the wall, another layer of contrasting plaster is put on top of the first layer, then artists engrave decorations in the top layer. Litomyšl Castle gained status as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1999.

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   Litomyšl Castle: In 1568-1581, the Medieval castle was rebuilt into a Renaissance castle. Despite of later reconstructions in the 18th century the appearance of the castle remained almost intact. There is also a Renaissance chapel in the castle. The castle is one of the best examples of the Renaissance architecture in the Czech Republic. Litomyšl Castle was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999.

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   Litomyšl Castle: The cellar of Litomyšl Castle contains the sculpture the 'Heart for Václav Havel', created of left over pieces from candles people lit throughout the Czech Republic when Václav Havel passed away. Havel used a heart as a personal symbol, he used to draw a heart under his signature as a symbol for truth and love. Václav Havel was a renowned Czech author, a dissident and also the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first of the Czech Republic.

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   Litomyšl Castle: The main façade of the second courtyard is adorned with Renaissance graffiti decoration. The Renaissance arcade-castle of Litomyšl is a type of building that first developped in Italy and later adopted and developed in Central Europe during the 16th century. The arcades are one of the most typical features of the Renaissance style, the graffiti decorations of Litomyšl Castle is also typical for the Renaissance style.

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   Litomyšl Castle: The Audience Hall is the largest, most prestigious hall of the castle. The crystal chandelier is of recent manufacture and weighs about 300 kg, it was a present from the Czech-born film director Milos Forman who used the chandelier as a decoration for his renowned film Amadeus. The floor is original and is a combination of maple, oak and plum wood, the rooms of Litomyšl Castle are embellished in the Baroque and neoclassical styles.

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   Litomyšl Castle: One of the small garden pavilions, it was built in 1796, a garden pavilion, called sallet, was an essential part of Baroque garden architecture. The walls surrounding the garden are decorated with statues of ancient gods. Litomyšl Castle is surrounded by an English garden, a fruit garden and a French garden decorated with 18th century statues.

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   Litomyšl Castle: The brewery, the towers of the Piarist Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross in the background. In the brewery of Litomyšl Castle, Bedřich Smetana was born in 1824. Smetana was the composer of Czech modern classical music. The Smetana's Litomyšl International Opera Festival has been held in the courtyard of the castle annually since 1949.

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   Litomyšl Castle: On the outside walls of Litomyšl Castle there are more than 8000 small sgraffito engravings. There are 24 Renaissance chimneys on the roof of the castle, adorned with sgraffiti decorations. The most beautiful Renaissance sgraffiti decorations are on the front façade of the second inner courtyard.

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   One of the highlights of Litomyšl Castle is the neoclassical castle theatre. The unique interior of the theatre with its rare set of scenery has been maintained almost intact. It was built in 1797 and the first performance was in 1798. It can accommodate up to 120 people. The balcony was for the nobility, the benches on the ground floor were for the guests from the Town of Litomyšl, the benches under the balcony were for the chimney sweeps, they worked as firemen, because everything in the Litomyšl Castle theatre is made from wood.