Ploskovice Castle, Baroque castle in Ploskovice, Czech Republic

Ploskovice Castle is a Baroque structure showing three stories from the north and four from the south, with its facades framing formal gardens and fountains. An underground cave system beneath the grounds supplies water to the fountains and decorative pools.

Anna Maria Franziska of Tuscany founded the high-Baroque castle in the first quarter of the 18th century beside an older manor, which was demolished in 1816. The architect is unknown; Octavio Broggio, Václav Špaček and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer are proposed. In 1848 it became the summer residence of the abdicated Emperor Ferdinand I, and Jan Bělský added a storey and an eastern pavilion.

The interior holds Rococo stuccowork by Václav Levý and M. Effenberger and wall paintings by Josef Navrátil, a leading figure of Czech Romanticism, restored between 1956 and 1958. The rooms also keep period furniture, paintings, porcelain, and drinking glasses from the Haida glassworks.

The castle is reached from Litoměřice, about six kilometres west, and the grounds sit at the foot of the České středohoří. Guided tours run through the halls and the terrace garden with its fountains and artificial grotto; the garden is on a terrace, so expect steps between levels.

The underground hydraulic system is an engineering feat from the 1700s that still powers fountains on the grounds today. This network of caves served both practical and decorative purposes, impressing guests with the sophistication of the construction.