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Chateau

Main building of NIFC

The ornament of the town of Strážnice is a castle surrounded by an extensive park. However, it acquired its current neo-Renaissance appearance with classical elements only in the mid-19th century.

In the areas accessible to the public, visitors can view the historical library, which contains 13,000 volumes of books. The permanent exhibition "Folk Music Instruments in the Czech Republic", the only one of its kind in Central Europe, is currently closed due to reconstruction. It will be possible to view it again from the 2022 season. Other interiors in the castle are also being gradually renovated, with the castle chapel featuring a historically valuable altar being the most recently opened to visitors. Many visitors will surely be interested in the annually changing exhibitions in the castle gallery. The spaces of the pink, green, and yellow salons are used for concerts and other cultural programs.

Originally, a fortress stood on the site of the castle as a guard post on the Moravian-Hungarian border. This is where the name of the later town of Strážnice comes from. Before the original so-called water castle became a representative residence, the estate went through a rich history.

The oldest mentions date back to the 14th century, when the first owners - the Lords of Kravař - are mentioned. They carried out the first reconstruction of the original fortress and around 1450 built the western wing of the castle. Part of the rampart with the Gothic Black Gate has been preserved from the fortifications to this day. Significant owners from 1501 were the Žerotín family, who added the eastern and connecting northern wing to the castle, decorated with Renaissance arcades.

After the Battle of White Mountain, the Magnis family became the last owners of the Strážnice estate. They were responsible for the current appearance of the castle and for the establishment of an extensive English park, where they had exotic tree species brought in. To this day, Strážnice boasts a beautiful plane tree alley, reportedly the longest in Central Europe.

Today, the castle is the seat of the National Institute of Folk Culture, which, among other things, also manages heritage sites, not only of the castle but also of the castle park and the Museum of Southeast Moravian Village known as the Strážnice Open-Air Museum.