HRAD STRAKONICE : ARCHITECTONIC SPLENDOURS

The building of the former grand prior’s residence, situated in the north-eastern part of the castle premises, is an integral part of the castle complex. It includes two wings, connected to form a rectangle.

The 1st courtyard is rather a small area between the former castle residence of the Maltese Order, St Procopius Church and the former brewery building.

The decanal church of St Procopius, who was the abbot, is one of the most significant monuments in Strakonice. It is situated in the Strakonice Castle grounds, in the far eastern corner of the rocky promontory overlooking the confluence of the Otava and the Volyňka. Originally, it was probably a manorial church of the Bavarians of Strakonice and changed into a monastic church after the commendam of the Order of Saint John was established.

The buildings are situated in the north wing of the castle, opposite St Procopius Church, between the Elementary Art School and the Deanery and Museum. It is an integral part of Strakonice Castle.

The main castle courtyard offers a view of the inside of the castle complex. When entering by the east gate, you will first see the Roman window above the entrance to the capitular hall of the cloister. On the left, in the north wing, there are offices used by the Museum of the Central Otava Region and technical support facilities located in a complex of buildings that separates the castle complex into the 2nd and 3rd courtyards.

Strakonice Castle is a unique structure as it combines medieval aristocratic castle architecture with a church commendam which was gradually transformed into the residence of important church dignitaries. Although the buildings were not consistently used for their original purpose up to the present time, this connection is still clearly visible. West of the church, there is a cloister and a capitular hall, one of the oldest parts of the castle.

Strakonice Castle is truly unique as its buildings, walls and layout show architectural evolution from the 12th century to the end of the 20th century. Despite all the changes throughout the centuries, its character as a large castle complex has been preserved, with all the distinctive features of a castle protected naturally by the confluence of two rivers and, in addition, a deep moat, once supplied with water from the pond nearby.

Visitors coming from the west are taken aback with bewilderment when they approach a big, defensive tower with a sharp edge, named Rumpál (i.e. winch). It is most likely named after the medieval device that was used to transport wrongdoers into the dungeon on the ground floor. It was part of the castle’s defence system, built somewhere around 1270 during the tenure of Bavarian II, and it stood in the middle of a new fortified wall that protected the castle from the west.

The kneeling statue of the Lord of Rožmberk was originally a part of the Hus memorial, which was completely finished by the Pilsen-based academic sculptor Vojtěch Šíp in 1926. The Hus memorial consisted of Master Jan Hus, Jan Žižka of Trocnov, George of Poděbrady, a German crusader and the Lord of Rožmberk.

The partial reconstruction, which took place in 2006-2007, brought a completely new discovery near the western defence wall. An open-hearth kitchen with a large chimney, a bread oven and a drying-kiln was found behind the newer retention wall.

The ceremonial hall and the city’s representative rooms are located in the 2nd courtyard, between the Šmidinger library and the museum offices. Wedding ceremonies take place in this hall every two weeks, especially on Saturdays.

The area of this courtyard changed the most in the 20th century. At the end of the 1930s, a part of the former brewery was demolished and garages were built. Another insensitive reconstruction took place at the 3rd courtyard in the 1970s, when the old castle mill was pulled down.

The Castle Safari was built in the moat of Strakonice Castle in 2007. It is now home to domestic Ouessant sheep, Dutch dwarf and domestic Cameroon goats, Shetland ponies and a donkey. A monumental oak and a willow have grown up in the moat.

Behind the moat of the castle, there is a gazebo with a rock garden placed on its roof. Along with the stone wall, it adorns the west part of the castle's park. Its cellar part, nicknamed "The Poison House", was access-restricted up until 2012.

The castle park was founded in 2007, on the site of what was probably originally a vegetable garden in the former naturally landscaped park. The garden, in the shape of an irregular rectangle, is situated in the western part of the castle moat.