Usov Castle

Usov Castle - Zámek Úsov, Usov, Olomouc Region, Czech Republic.

The original Gothic castle, built in the style of a French *castel* (a compact fortress with a curtain wall and corner towers), is one of the oldest in Moravia. It was a royal foundation dating back to the first half of the 13th century; the first written mention of it dates to 1260. In the 15th century, it was briefly held by the House of Šternberk. It served as an occasional residence for Margrave Prokop—a nephew of Charles IV—acting as a crucial stronghold during the wars against his brother, Jošt. During the 15th century, the castle was held for a long period as a pledge by the Lords of Vlašim. Their successors, the Boskovice family, acquired ownership of the castle in the 16th century, and from 1597 onwards, it belonged to the House of Liechtenstein. Surviving elements of the original castle include, above all, the defensive walls reinforced with cylindrical towers, which were heightened in the 15th century to accommodate artillery. Renaissance vaulting in the main castle building and in certain rooms of the outbuildings bears witness to the construction of the château on the site of an earlier Gothic palace and the expansion of the complex under the Boskovice family. A Baroque reconstruction of the château, including the construction of a magnificent staircase, was carried out between 1692 and 1699 based on designs by Domenico Martinelli. The Úsov château complex long housed the administration of the estate; it also served as the site of Moravia’s first forestry school (1852–1867), a municipal vocational school for milling (1911–1914), and a Czech minority elementary school during the interwar period. In 1898, John II approved... ...of Liechtenstein established a forestry and hunting museum featuring extensive collections of wildlife from the vast Liechtenstein estates and from hunting expeditions to Poland, Italy, Africa, and India. Úsov Castle was subsequently selected to house these collections. The Liechtenstein family owned the castle until 1945, after which it was administered by the state; since 1995, the castle and chateau have been the property of the town of Úsov.