Valtice Castle, Baroque residence in Valtice, Czech Republic

Valtice Castle is a baroque residence in southern Moravia featuring ornate facades, multiple wings, and formal gardens laid out in geometric patterns. The structure was expanded and modified over the centuries to create the complex visitors see today.

A wooden-and-earth castle with a stone dwelling was built here in the late 12th century and enlarged in late Romanesque style in the first half of the 13th century. The Liechtensteins acquired it in the late 14th century; after 1608 it was rebuilt in baroque form under Giovanni Giacomo Tencalla and Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. The family lost 60% of its land in the 1919 Czechoslovak reform, and the last prince residing here, Franz I, died in 1938.

The castle theatre, rebuilt on the site of an earlier Remise and opened in 1790 under Prince Alois I Joseph, was restored and reopened with performances on 12 and 13 September 2015; it now houses the Czech National Centre for Theatre and Dance. The Liechtenstein princes drew artists such as Baldassare Fontana and Domenico Egidio Rossi to Valtice.

Access to the interior is by guided tour only, which takes visitors through approximately twenty rooms showing how the family lived. Check ahead for tour schedules, as they vary seasonally and availability depends on current conditions.

The castle theatre, built in 1788/89 on the site of a former coach house, was rebuilt as a replica and reopened with performances on 12 and 13 September 2015. It now houses the Czech National Centre for Theatre and Dance. The 2021 tornado damaged roofs, windows and sculptures.