Article Tour of Blatná

Blatná Water Castle is one of the best-preserved water mansions in the Czech Republic. It is the most historically valuable and architecturally most important monument of its kind in our country. Originally it was a fortress whose origins date back to the 13th century. During the 14th century, the fortress acquired the character of a Gothic castle. The castle is dominated by a white tower, which is reflected in the water surface from a distance. After 1989, the chateau was returned to the original owners, to whom the chateau belonged since 1798. The owners have been carrying out extensive reconstructions since then. During the tourist season, the castle is open to the public. Thanks to its romantic appearance, Blatná Castle and its surroundings have appeared in films and fairy tales. The most famous are the White Lady and the Madly Sad Princess.

In addition to the castle itself with a moat, there is a well-visited adjacent English landscape park with a herd of fallow deer. The park with an area of 42 ha was created from the original field in the first half of the 19th century. The traditional breeding of spotted fallow deer continues in the park and exotic trees can also be found in it. At the left edge of the central meadow there is an originally Baroque, today Empire garden house from 1767. In the castle park in Blatná there is an artificial cave. In the park there are artificial caves connected by stone corridors. The castle park is open all year round for a fee.

In front of the church there is a separate 45.5 m high separate bell tower called Blatenská věž built in 1723, which represents the dominant feature of the town and a unique architectural building. After the fire on September 13, 1834, this bell tower was restored, raised and modified from the outside by a romantic neo-Gothic reconstruction. Previously, this bell tower served as a gateway to the cemetery surrounding the church.

The Gothic church was built in the second half of the 15th century on the site of the original Romanesque church. The church is 16 m high and 37 m long, the cellar vault is very interesting. There are a total of 9 Gothic windows with a flame tracery in the church. The oldest part of the church is the Romanesque sacristy preserved from the previous church. The church is a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

Until 1780, there was also a cemetery near the church, and in 1764, Alžběta Serényi had a cloister built with six arcades. Ambit is the only arcade in Blatno. It is located behind the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and is connected to the Chapel of St. Michala. This Gothic building with a red tower was completed in 1515.

In addition to the church and the bell tower, the main square is dominated by the old town hall building from 1865. It is a building with neo-Romanesque elements on the site of the original Renaissance town hall, destroyed by the city fire in 1834. In the middle of the square stands the Marian Column dated to 1726.

The historic core of the city is declared a city monument zone thanks to the preserved buildings from the 14th – 19th century.

In the chateau park, Smolivecký flows down with the Závišín brook and the Lomnice river is created, which after 31 km flows into the Otava in the Orlická dam.

The large building built in 1932 served at a time when Blatná was a district town as a district office. During World War II, the building was rebuilt into a hospital. After 1960, an administrative reform was carried out and the district office ceased to exist. Since then, the building has been used as a school.