Orlík Chateau

Orlík Chateau is located on the border of South and Central Bohemia, next to one of the largest water reservoirs in the Czech Republic – the Orlík Dam. There used to be a castle there in the Middle Ages that guarded the waterway from the rich Šumava forests to Prague. The castle first included a small palace protected by walls and three keeps. The castle was expanded in the 16th century after a fire that destroyed Orlík. However, the most extensive reconstruction took place at the beginning of the 19th century when Prince Karel Schwarzenberg chose to build his seat there.
 

Romantic interiors

Today, you can visit the chateau and tour the richly decorated chateau interiors. They are an excellent example of the noble lifestyle in the 19th century. You will definitely remember Teska’s Hall with a richly decorated carved coffered ceiling and the wooden facing of the walls. Woodwork is typical of the chateau. The spectacular Knight Hall is decorated and furnished in a similar romantic spirit. However, there are also interiors in the chateau that come from the Empire style of the Napoleonic period, mainly in the form of furniture that the owners had delivered straight from Paris.
 

Where to go next

Orlík Chateau is surrounded by a large landscape park. About 140 hectares have been preserved from the original 180 hectares; the rest was flooded in the 1960s by the Orlík Dam, which now forms one of the natural borders of the park. Inside the park is a Neo-Gothic tomb of one of the Schwarzenberg family branches, who owns the chateau.