- Type
- Palace / château
- Origins
- 18th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- South Moravian, Czechia
- Style
- baroque architecture
- Architect
- František Benedikt Klíčník
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 48.9594°, 17.1381°
History
The mansion stands on the site of a 14th-century moated fort, held in the 15th century by, among others, the lords of Moravany, the Kravař family and the Zástřizls; in 1586–1596 Bernard Ludvík Tovar rebuilt it as a one-storey Renaissance house, and in the 1670s a further storey and four corner towers were added. The estate, ruined during the Thirty Years' War, was bought in 1648 by Gabriel Serényi, later governor of Moravia, and his descendant Karel Antonín Serényi made it the family's main seat and gave the building its Baroque form in 1719–1725 and 1738–1743; those involved included the Brno builder František Benedikt Klíčník and the master mason Martin Pahnost. The Serényis held Milotice until 1811, followed by the Choiseul and Hardegg families and, from 1888, the Seilerns; the last of them, Ladislav Seilern, lived here until 1945, when the house was confiscated under the Beneš decrees. After the war it housed an agricultural school among other uses; restoration began in the late 1960s, and in 1974 the mansion opened to visitors. It now belongs to the state and is managed by the National Heritage Institute.
What to see
The mansion is surrounded by a moat, a relic of the earlier water fort, and includes an oval court of honour from the second Baroque rebuilding. The main tour shows the rooms as they were in the first half of the 20th century, arranged from the recollections of the last count's daughter and other witnesses, and tells of the everyday life of the Seilern family. East of the house lies a Baroque French garden with a sala terrena of 1722, statues and fountains, restored in 1968–1972, and the two orangeries house an exhibition of Moravian Baroque sculpture; beyond are the pheasantry with its hunting pavilion and a mock-Gothic "ruin", and a restored kitchen garden. Replicas of period dress are made in the castle's own workshop and can be borrowed for a walk around the garden.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q1752946
Popularity: articles about this site in 9 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).