Imagine yourself as an aristocrat in the 19th century who wishes to own a ruin of their own. Sadly, there weren’t any dilapidating castles in the area. So, what to do? That’s easy – hire an architect and build one!
Does this sound crazy? Well, certainly not at the time it was built. Aloys I Joseph of Liechtenstein wanted one so much that he even paid the architect Joseph Hardmuth to travel around to look at actual castle ruins in order to be able to design the perfect illusion. The Janohrad Castle, also known as Janův Castle (meaning John’s Castle), was named after Aloys’s younger brother John who inherited it after Aloys’s death. It served as a meeting place for the nobility during hunts. Opulent feasts, in which the bagged game was roasted and eaten, took place in the Knights’ Hall on the first floor. The towers contained private rooms.
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