Ploskovice - A Hidden Gem in Northern Czechia

Connoisseurs of Czech castles are certainly familiar with this place, but Ploskovice was absolutely unknown to me. My surprise was great when I stood in front of the facade of this beautiful castle.

In the 12th century, Ploskovice fell into the hands of the Johannites, who built a small fortress here. Due to a lack of funds, they had to sell Ploskovice in the 14th century. After that, the owners changed several times. The fortress gradually fell into disrepair, and one owner built a simple castle opposite it. A significant change occurred only in the 17th century when Ploskovice – together with other properties – was inherited by Princess Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg. She married at the age of 18 and was widowed three years later when her husband, the only 24-year-old Prince Philipp Wilhelm August, died after suffering for seven days from a “malignant fever”.

Anna Maria Franziska wanted to remain a widow, but at the insistence of her brother-in-law, Emperor Leopold I, she remarried a few years later – to Gian Gaston, the last male descendant of the Tuscan Medici family. Unlike the first marriage, this one was for political reasons, and it was only about securing a male offspring. But Gaston was a homosexual and Anna Maria Franziska was too religious. The marriage did not produce offspring. Gaston soon got tired of life in Bohemia, moved to Florence and never saw his wife again. Anna Maria Franziska began the costly reconstruction of her residences. Although she was known for her social sensibilities, she loved luxury and opulence, which was also reflected in the expensive furnishing of the new buildings.

In the years 1720-1725, she built a new castle in Ploskovice next to the old one. Apparently, she wanted to hide the high cost of this construction, so she burned all the bills. Therefore, we do not even know the name of the architect who designed the building. After her death, the castle changed its owners several times, until in 1805 it became the property of the Habsburgs. When the Austrian emperor Ferdinand I., the Benevolent, abdicated after the events of 1848, his nephew, the young Franz Joseph I, ascended the throne. The abdicated emperor retreated to Prague. From there, he then drove in a carriage to his summer residences – to the Zákupy castle and to the Ploskovice castle.

Ferdinand, who was also the last crowned Czech king, moved to Ploskovice in 1854 and used the castle until he died in 1878. He had the castle modernized and replaced the wallpaper, curtains and furniture. The interiors were expanded and the castle was raised by one more floor. The emperor was epileptic since childhood and was often ill, so some rooms and furniture had to be adapted to his condition. For example, the bed stood on rollers so that it could be moved.

Our tour of the castle began in the Baroque vestibule. The frescoes here depict mythological figures related to water, Neptune can be seen on the ceiling. The choice of characters is not random. Under the vestibule, there are artificial caves – grotte (we will visit later). There are triangular openings in the floor, from where the roar of running water once came from these caves. It must have been really impressive!

Stairs lead from the vestibule to the private rooms of the imperial couple. The rooms were remodelled in Rococo style. All the ceilings were painted by one of the most important artists of Czech romanticism, Josef Matej Navrátil. The garnishes and door handles are original and were also designed by him.

We discovered an interesting ceiling in the bedroom. In each corner, there are small medallions with animals that symbolize different parts of the day.

In the next room, there are portraits of popular personalities (Shakespeare, Socrates…) on the ceiling, and in the bedroom of the empress, the four seasons are represented, winter being the figure of a kind of a “Santa”, as you see in the photo.

When audiences and other duties were over, the emperor liked to play chess or billiards.

The imperial couple was also interested in music, they both played the piano. They also often invited local bands to play for them under the balconies.

In one room, I also discovered a painting of Vienna, my second home.

Elsewhere, paintings on the walls or medallions in the showcase reminded the emperor of his nephew and his beautiful wife Sisi. Both visited Ferdinand in Ploskovice after their wedding.

And it was Emperor Franz Joseph I who took over the castle as his personal property after Ferdinand’s death, but he did not visit it anymore. On the other hand, his granddaughter, Archduchess Elisabeth, the only daughter of the late Crown Prince Rudolf, lived here when her first husband worked in Prague.

The most representative room of the castle is the oval ceremonial hall, originally a dining room, which is why there are also frescoes with bowls of fruit and other still lifes.

The Baroque ceiling depicts the four continents – the animals will tell you (the horse is Europe) which part represents which continent.

There is also an astronomical clock on the ceiling, but unfortunately, it does not work. The guide even showed us a primitive elevator here. Balls were held in this room, the musicians stood on a small balcony, from where we could also enjoy the view of the entire hall.

Then we moved to the garden. The peace and quiet of the 8-hectare park was occasionally interrupted by the voices of peacocks. There are 16 of them here. Mothers with small children had a picnic on the grass. If you come here, maybe the dahlias, the most favorite flowers of Emperor Ferdinand, will be blooming. Every Habsburg had to have a profession, Ferdinand was a gardener.

We looked again at the facade of the castle. The emperor and his guests got the same look when they arrived at the castle. Guests first entered the artificial caves to refresh themselves.

The central part is an oval hall directly below the vestibule. It is equipped with Baroque fountains, richly decorated with fish, putti, shells and other water spouts.

It’s a pity that today the water flows from only one place, so the putti look like they have tiny whistles in their little mouths.

After the disintegration of the monarchy in 1918, the castle became the summer residence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czechoslovak Republic. It was opened to the public only in the 1960s. Although you get the impression that the interiors are authentic, this is not quite the case. The original furniture was not preserved. The castle has recently undergone a major renovation (it was reopened in June 2024) according to old documents. Wallpaper and curtains were also restored according to the found microremains. Thanks to this renovation, it now looks like it did in the 1850s.

You could also see the castle in several Czech movie fairy tales but also in the film Amadeus by Miloš Forman or in the series about young Indiana Jones. The singer Celine Dion chose it in 1997 to shoot the clip for her song It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.

After the tour, coffee and dessert were a great choice in the Café Páv (Peacock) directly under the arcades. The tables are supported by the bodies of old sewing machines.

Don’t forget to leave a piece of cake for the peacock too. Maybe, it will come to pick it right out of the palm of your hand!