Budišov Castle

Budišov Castle stands in the small market town of Budišov in the Vysočina Region, roughly halfway between Třebíč, Velké Meziříčí, and Náměšť nad Oslavou. For decades the building has served as a branch of the Moravian Museum (Moravské zemské muzeum) and holds one of the most unusual natural-history collections in the Czech Republic.

How did the building evolve over the centuries?

From a moated fortress to a Renaissance manor

A Gothic moated fortress stood on the site as early as the 13th century, held by the lords of Lomnice. The last member of that line, known as Budiš, is said to have fought at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. In the 1570s Václav Berka of Dubá had the old stronghold rebuilt in Renaissance style, using the walls of the earlier fortress as the foundation for the new residence. Decades earlier, on 14 September 1538, Emperor Ferdinand I granted the village of Budišov market-town privileges.

Baroque grandeur in the 18th century

The castle owes its present Baroque appearance to a reconstruction carried out in the 1720s. From the early 19th century until 1945, the estate belonged to the Baratta-Dragono family, who shaped it into a representative noble residence.

How did a castle become a museum?

After the Second World War the property passed into state ownership, and in 1974 its administration was taken over by the Moravian Museum. Following extensive renovation, a zoological depository was set up inside and opened to the public in 1991. Today the building itself belongs to the market town of Budišov, while the museum continues to run its exhibition there.

What can visitors see in the zoological collection?

The collection kept at Budišov is among the oldest in the Moravian Museum's holdings, assembled gradually since the mid-19th century. Its core consists of mounted specimens of birds, mammals, fish, and amphibians native to the Czech lands, complemented by trophies brought back from hunting expeditions to Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

How large is the collection?

The depository holds more than 700 trophies of hoofed animals - giraffes, antelopes, gazelles, buffalo, elephants, zebras, deer, and moose among them - along with roughly 3,000 specimens of exotic birds. The vertebrate displays are rounded out by invertebrates: sea sponges, jellyfish, crustaceans, mollusks, worms, and echinoderms.

Who is the exhibition aimed at?

Given the scale and variety of the holdings, Budišov draws both nature enthusiasts and anyone curious about the history of natural-history collecting in Central Europe - it is hard to find a comparable range of specimens from such distant corners of the world gathered inside one modest castle in the Czech countryside.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Budišov Castle located? The castle stands in the village of Budišov in the Vysočina Region, roughly midway between Třebíč, Velké Meziříčí, and Náměšť nad Oslavou.

What is the castle used for today? Since 1974 it has been managed by the Moravian Museum, which installed a zoological depository that has been open to visitors since 1991.

What is the main attraction inside? The zoological collection is the highlight - more than 700 trophies of hoofed animals from Africa, Asia, and the Americas, plus around 3,000 exotic bird specimens, alongside native Czech fauna.

Who owned the castle in the past? The original 13th-century moated fortress belonged to the lords of Lomnice; Václav Berka of Dubá commissioned its Renaissance rebuilding, and from the early 19th century until 1945 the estate belonged to the Baratta-Dragono family.