Veltrusy Mansion, Baroque château in Veltrusy, Czech Republic.
Veltrusy Mansion is a château with a distinctive X-shaped layout and a central circular space that rises above the ground floor through two levels. The building combines baroque and neoclassical elements and sits near the Vltava River.
Count Václav Antonín Chotek had architect Giovanni Battista Alliprandi design the mansion; construction began in 1706 and the shell was finished in 1709, with stuccowork by Giovanni Domenico Spazio in 1709–1711. The Chotek family owned it until 1945, and in 1754 it hosted the first sample trade fair in the world, the Great Market of Goods of the Kingdom of Bohemia, attended by Maria Theresa.
The château's name comes from the village of Veltrusy, and the estate stayed with the Chotek family from 1698 until confiscation in 1945. In the sala terrena and the Mušlové pokoje (Shell Rooms) on the ground floor, visitors see some of the best-preserved baroque and rococo interiors of a Bohemian country seat.
The château offers regular guided tours through its preserved interiors and the surrounding park grounds. Visitors should allow enough time to explore both the building and the outdoor areas.
In 1754, the château hosted the first economic exhibition in Czech lands, called the Great Market of Czech Kingdom Goods. This event made it a hub for trade and craft exchange during that era.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,936 contributors worldwide.
