Zámek Jindřichův Hradec is an extensive castle and chateau complex in the town of Jindřichův Hradec, managed by the National Heritage Institute.[1]
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Zámek Jindřichův Hradec stands on a rocky spur above the confluence of the river Nežárka and the Hamerský potok stream in the South Bohemian town of the same name. The whole complex covers an area of roughly three and a half hectares and arose through the gradual rebuilding of an older fortified residence.[1]
Earliest settlement
According to archaeological research, a Slavic hillfort documented from as early as the 10th century stood on the site of the present chateau. It was part of the so-called hillfort system (hradská soustava), by which the early Czech principality was administered. A trade route from the south of Europe passed through the place and entered Czech territory through the so-called land gate (zemská brána) at Landštejn Castle. The fortified hillfort above the ford served as a centre protecting trade and local production.[1]
The Vítkovci and the origin of the castle
Sources associate the building of the medieval castle with the name of Jindřich Vítkovec, who founded a separate branch of the lords of Hradec, using a coat of arms with a golden rose on a blue field. The oldest written mention of the castle dates from 1220, when it appears under the name "Novum castrum", that is, New Castle. At that time the round Černá věž tower and the adjoining palace were built and the wall was reinforced. The building development followed both defensive needs and the representational demands of the residence.[1]
From the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries the lords of Hradec held important offices at the Bohemian princely and later royal court and influenced events in the region for several generations. The old palace by the Černá věž grew gradually in several building stages and acquired its present form in a late Gothic alteration at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. A second Gothic palace stood on the site of today's Španělské křídlo.[1]
Renaissance rebuilding
From the beginning of the 16th century the old castle was gradually, and from the middle of the century intensively, transformed into a Renaissance residence. The Italian builders Antonio Ericer, Baltazar Maggi and Giovanni Maria Faconi took part in shaping it. On the third courtyard arose the Adamovo stavení and, opposite it, the Španělské křídlo, linked by extensive arcades. In the smaller garden a music pavilion called Rondel was built, which according to the chateau's history closed the main building stage of the complex. Later alterations were only partial and did not essentially change the Renaissance appearance of the chateau.[1]
The family of the lords of Hradec died out in the male line with the death of Jáchym Oldřich of Hradec in 1604.[1]
The Slavatas of Chlum and Košumberk
In 1602 Vilém Slavata of Chlum and Košumberk married the last member of the family, Lucie Otýlie of Hradec. After the death of her brother Jáchym Oldřich in 1604 he became heir to the whole estate and bearer of the title "ruler of the House of Hradec". In Czech history he is known chiefly as the royal governor who in 1618 was thrown out of a window of Prague Castle during the so-called Second Defenestration of Prague. During the ninety years in which the Slavata family owned the chateau, no major building changes took place.[1]
Management of the monument
The castle and chateau complex in Jindřichův Hradec is today managed by the National Heritage Institute, which on its website traces its history from the earliest settlement to the Slavata period.[1]