Jansky Vrch Chateau

Jansky Vrch Chateau is situated in the Jeseniky district in the Olomouc region. The Jeseniky district is in the most northern part of Silesia and Moravia and borders Poland. Jansky Vrch Chateau stands on a rock above the town of Jesenik.

The chateau has two courtyards- the upper courtyard and the lower courtyard. The buildings surrounding the courtyards are of many different ages- late Gothic, late Renaissance, Baroque, etc. The oldest medieval parts of the chateau are not very visible nowadays, but this period determined the proportions of the chateau. The most significant part of the chateau was the donjon, a great inner tower, which was not preserved.

An oval concert hall was built on the foundations of the donjon in the Baroque era. In the Renaissance, a chapel was built in the northern part of the fortification. It was later rebuilt in the Gothic style. Above the chapel is a distinctive clock tower. On the east side of the chateau is Baroque garden terrace, which is surrounded by Gothic fortification. The interiors of the chateau are mostly designed in Baroque and Neoclassical style.

A castle was founded in the second half of the 13th century. The first written mention appears in 1307, at the time the castle belonged to the princes of Svidnice. In 1348 the ownership changed hands. The new owner was the bishop of Wroclaw, Preclav z Pogarel. Since that time it belonged, except for some short intermissions, to the diocese in Wroclaw.

In the 15th century, the century of the Hussite Wars, the castle sustained frequent damage Its fortification was demolished, so that enemies could not use it if they managed to conquer the castle. A Gothic reconstruction changed the castle at the end of the 15th century. The castle was renamed in honor of the patron of the Wroclaw bishops, John the Baptist, to Jansky Vrch.

The conversion from castle to chateau took place in the 18th century. In this era, it became the main center of music in Silesia. At the end of the 19th century, the chateau was made a summer residence. The chateau was nationalized in 1984 after a settlement between the Czechs and the Polish church. It is owned by the National Monument Institute and in 2002 it was listed as a national cultural monument.

For more information about the Olomouc Region, from which this chateau comes, click here and here.