Czernin-Morzin Castle in Benešov nad Ploučnicí

Czernin-Morzin Castle is the youngest part of the sprawling castle complex in Benešov nad Ploučnicí – a wing added on the south side of the courtyard in 1878, standing out through its history rather than its looks from the much older buildings around it: the Upper Castle, the Lower Castle, and Wolf's Castle. It wasn't built for defense or estate administration but as a private wedding gift within the family of the site's last aristocratic owners.

Who built it, and why?

The project was commissioned by Countess Aloisie Czernin, née Morzin, who bought the Lower Castle and its estate in 1877. A year later, in 1878, she had a new wing raised on the south side of the castle grounds. The building was most likely intended as a wedding gift for her son, Count Rudolf Czernin of Chudenice, who married Emma, Countess Orsini-Rosenberg, that same year. The new wing was linked to the older castle by a wall with a gateway bearing a heraldic alliance of both noble families – a lasting symbol of the union between the Czernin and Morzin lines.

Why does it look older than it is?

Although the palace dates from the second half of the 19th century rather than the Renaissance, its builders deliberately designed it to faithfully echo the style of the far older 16th-century residences already standing on the same courtyard. The new structure copied the Saxon Renaissance forms of the Upper and Lower Castle so closely that, to an untrained eye, it reads as part of one continuous composition rather than a later addition. It's an unusual case of a historicizing extension built to blend in rather than stand apart.

How long did the family actually hold the castle?

The Czernin-Morzin family's tenure here was brief. Just ten years after the new wing went up, in March 1888, Countess Aloisie Czernin-Morzin sold the entire Lower Castle and its estate to Martin and Theodor Grohmann, textile industrialists. That sale closed out more than 310 years of continuous aristocratic ownership of the site, dating back to 1578, when the neighboring Wolf's Castle was completed.

Where does the name "Czernin-Morzin" come from?

The double surname behind the building's present name has its roots in events beyond Benešov itself. Countess Aloisie was the only daughter of Count Rudolf of Morzin, the last member of his branch of the family. In 1908 her son, the same Rudolf Czernin of Chudenice, inherited the Vrchlabí estate from his mother and, on that occasion, took on the title and name of the by-then extinct Morzin family, signing himself from that point on as Czernin-Morzin. That combined name is where the wing's present designation comes from.

What should visitors know before coming?

The Czernin-Morzin wing forms an integral part of the larger castle complex in Benešov nad Ploučnicí, which also includes the Upper Castle, the Lower Castle, and Wolf's Castle. While walking through the courtyard, it's worth looking for the gateway connecting the older and newer sections – that's where the heraldic alliance of the two families can still be seen, one of the few tangible traces of the short but symbolically significant Czernin-Morzin episode in the site's history.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Czernin-Morzin Castle in Benešov nad Ploučnicí built? In 1878, on the initiative of Countess Aloisie Czernin, née Morzin.

Why was this wing built? Most likely as a wedding gift for the countess's son, Rudolf Czernin of Chudenice, who married Emma, Countess Orsini-Rosenberg, in 1878.

Does the building look 19th-century? No – its architects deliberately designed it to closely imitate the Saxon Renaissance style of the castle's older 16th-century wings.

How long did the Czernin-Morzin family own the castle? Very briefly – the countess sold the entire Lower Castle, including this wing, to the Grohmann brothers as early as March 1888.

Where does the name "Czernin-Morzin" come from? From 1908, when the countess's son adopted the name and title of the extinct Morzin family after inheriting the Vrchlabí estate.