Vranov nad Dyji Castle

Vranov nad Dyji Castle is a secular building in the Central European Baroque style. Its management is ensured by the National Institute of Monuments. Today, the castle is a national cultural monument located in the western part of the Podyji National Park. The building offers visitors an unforgettable view of the original Baroque interiors and the culture of Vranov living at the time, from which it is possible to date ceramics from the Vranov stoneware factory.

The first mention of the castle dates back to the year 1100, when the dean of the chapter of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Kosmas, mentioned it in his famous Chronicle of the Czechs, as a border castle that was part of the Pody defense system.

A report that has been preserved from 1323 tells of a decision of Jan of Luxemburg, who exchanged his Vranov manor property with the surrounding towns and other goods with the recognized leader of the noble opposition, Jindřich of Lipe. After Vladislav Jagiellon released Vranov into free hereditary possession, the rich Lichtenburgs became owners in the 15th century.

The 16th century brought many new owners who changed here in short periods of time, for example Lord Zdenek Meziricsky from Lomnice, the Dietrichsteins, and also Volf Krajir from Krajek. However, the most important owners of Vranov were the Althan family. In 1629, General Jan Arnost from Scherfenberg bought it. Then, in 1645, after the Battle of Jankovo, the town of Vranov was completely occupied and destroyed by Swedish troops.

In 1665, there was a devastating fire at the castle, and right after that, the Stahrenbergs acquired the estate, and they also carried out the last extensive renovation of the Vranov medieval fortress.

Between 1680 and 1774, a new era began under Imperial Count Michal Jan II from Althann.  In 1680 he bought Vranov for his family. His intention was to build a representative mansion, and he chose the Austrian court architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach for his plan.

The Hall of Ancestors became the architectural focal point of the castle, precisely according to Fischer’s plans. Construction began shortly after 1687, and the hall  was decorated by leading artists such as Tobias Kracker, Johann Michael Rottmayr, and other Italian masters.

After the completion of the hall, Michal Jan II did not hesitate and threw himself into Fischer’s next project, a chapel of the Holy Trinity with the underground Althann tomb. In 1702 Michal Jan II died. His plans did not come to fruition and were taken over by his eldest son Michal Herman Althann and after 1722 by his daughter-in-law Marie Anna Pignatelli. She took care of the construction of the three-wing castle building and the modification of other parts.

In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, another important chapter in the castle’s construction history occurred, where the estate came into the hands of the last Althann of Vranov, Michal Josef. He had the first floor decorated in the style of emerging classicism. However, classicism enriched not only the castle, but also its natural surroundings.

Throughout the nineteenth century, when the castle was owned by the Polish aristocratic Mniszk family and the related Stadnicky family, it did not experience any major changes.

Not long after the year 1938, when Vranov fell under Hitler’s empire, the castle was confiscated from its owner, Adam Zbynek Leon Standicky and sold to German Baron Gebhard von der Wense-Mörse. The castle was opened to the public only after the Second World War, after which the state confiscated the Vranov monument.

For more information about the South Moravian region, from which this castle comes, click here and here.