Stvolínky Castle, Early Baroque château in Stvolínky, Czech Republic
Stvolínky Castle is an early Baroque four-wing, two-storey building in the village of Stvolínky, about 10 km southwest of Česká Lípa. Its courtyard is lined with partly glazed arcades, and behind the building stand a park, the Church of All Saints and visible remains of the former moat, crossed by a bridge.
A moated fortress is first documented in 1505, when Vilém II of Illburk registered it for his wife Anežka of Helfenštejn, who had it rebuilt as a Renaissance château. Cardinal Arnošt Vojtěch Harrach bought the estate for 53,000 gulden in 1647 for the planned Litoměřice bishopric, and in 1655–1664 it was rebuilt in early Baroque style as the bishops' summer residence.
The castle became the summer residence of the Litoměřice bishops after Cardinal Arnošt Vojtěch Harrach bought the estate in 1647. Bishop Emanuel Arnošt z Valdštejna had it adapted in Rococo style in the second half of the 18th century, and at the end of the 19th century it served as a seminary.
The castle is not permanently open; it is unlocked a few times a year for cultural events such as the local Zámecké slavnosti, organised by the municipality and the Zámek Stvolínky association. The train stop Stvolínky on line 087 from Lovosice to Česká Lípa is about 1 km away, and a bus stop sits by the castle on the Zahrádky road, reached by the red-marked trail from Ronov.
The castle's chateau chapel is the Church of All Saints, which stands directly behind the building beside the park; traces of the old water moat are still visible there, crossed by a bridge. The four-winged two-storey building has a courtyard lined with partly glazed arcades.
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