Slatiňany Castle

Slatiňany Castle is the former summer residence of the Auersperg princely family in the town of Slatiňany, in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic, now home to a hippological museum built around the black Kladruber horse.

How did the castle take shape over the centuries?

The earliest written record of a fortress on the rocky bluff above the Chrudimka river dates to 1294, when the estate belonged to a certain Franz of Slatiňany. The original timber stronghold burned down more than once and changed hands dozens of times before the end of the 16th century. In 1575 the property was bought by Bohuslav Mazanec of Frymburk, and between 1580 and 1590 the Italian architect Ulrico Aostalli de Sala rebuilt it as a two-winged, two-storey Renaissance chateau; sgraffito decoration from that period still survives on the eastern wing.

How did the Auerspergs come to own it?

In 1732 the estate passed to Count Joseph Francis of Schönfeld, who had it remodelled in the Baroque style. When his daughter Marie Kateřina married Prince Johann Adam of Auersperg in 1746, Slatiňany began two centuries under the Auersperg family, ending only with the family's extinction in 1942. Under the Auerspergs the chateau became a place for rest and pastimes built around horses - hunting and, later, racing. In the 19th century Prince Vincenc Karl added neo-Gothic details to the building, and in 1796 an English landscape park of 16 hectares was laid out around the residence. A later owner, Prince Franz Joseph (1856-1938), modernised the chateau with electricity, running water and central heating, and added large stables together with playful garden structures for the family's children, including a miniature castle and the so-called Cat Castle.

What happened to the castle after 1945?

After the last Auersperg died in 1942, the property passed to Josef Karel Trauttmansdorff, only to be confiscated by the state in 1945. In 1947 a State Hippological Museum was set up in the former stable buildings, tracing the evolution, anatomy, breeding and use of horses through history. The stables at Slatiňany became part of the breeding programme of the National Stud Farm at Kladruby nad Labem: while Kladruby is known for its white Kladruber horses, Slatiňany specialises in breeding the black variety. In 2019 the whole stud farm area, together with its associated breeding landscape - including Slatiňany - was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Where is Slatiňany and what else is there to know?

The castle stands above the Chrudimka river, about 3 km south of Chrudim and 12 km south of Pardubice, in the Pardubice Region. The town itself has around 4,100 residents and only gained official town status in 1971, despite records going back to the end of the 13th century. During the 19th century, under Auersperg ownership, Slatiňany grew into a small industrial centre with a sugar refinery, a distillery and a fertiliser plant. Today the castle is protected as a national cultural monument and operates as a chateau museum open to visitors on guided tours.

Frequently asked questions

Who owned Slatiňany Castle? From 1746 to 1942 the castle belonged to the Auersperg princely family; before that it passed through the Mazanec of Frymburk family and the counts of Schönfeld, while the first recorded owner of the medieval fortress, in 1294, was Franz of Slatiňany.

Why is Slatiňany Castle associated with horses? The Auerspergs bred horses and held hunts on the estate for generations, and after 1947 the former stables became home to the State Hippological Museum. Those stables now form part of the National Stud Farm at Kladruby, with Slatiňany specialising in the black variety of Kladruber horse.

Is Slatiňany Castle a UNESCO site? Yes. In 2019 the National Stud Farm at Kladruby nad Labem and its associated breeding landscape, which includes Slatiňany, were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Where exactly is Slatiňany Castle located? The castle sits on the Chrudimka river in the Pardubice Region, roughly 3 km south of Chrudim and 12 km south of Pardubice.