Kinzhvart castle czech republic. Sports and outdoor activities. What time can I get on an excursion to the castle museum

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Castles of Western Bohemia

Empire style dagger castle

About 50 kilometers southwest of Karlovy Vary, near the border with Germany, is the small town of Lazne Kinzhvart, which houses one of the brightest Czech castles in the Empire style - czech castle Kinzhvart.

HISTORY

Czech castle Kinzhvart    first mentioned in chronicles in the 13th century, it was then that on this site, by order of King Przemysl Otakar II, a small Czech fortress in the Gothic style was built to protect the western borders. At the end of the XVI century, the fortress was rebuilt in the Renaissance style. True, in this form, Kinzhvart Castle did not last long, after the devastating Thirty Years' War, only ruins remained in its place, on the site of which the new owner Count Philip Emerich von Metternich built a Baroque castle in 1681-1691.

The descendant of Philip Emerich, Clemens Lothar von Metternich, the first chancellor of the Austrian Empire in 1821-1848, made Kinzvart Castle his main residence, rebuilding it in the then fashionable "imperial" (empire) style. The reconstruction of the Kinjvart castle, led by Viennese Italian architect Pietro Nobile, led to the emergence of a practical new castle, completely hiding the original Baroque appearance. In the time of Clemens von Metternich czech castle Kinzhvart   was the center of cultural life in Western Bohemia, the famous Czech writer Adalbert Stifter lived here, Johann Wolfgang Goethe often visited.

Owned by Metternich czech castle Kinzhvart    was until 1945, the next two years the headquarters of the third American army and the US embassy were located in the castle. And, finally, from 1947 to the present, the Czech castle Kinzhvart is owned by the Czech state, from 1976 to 1994 a general reconstruction was carried out, after which this Czech castle reopened its doors to visitors.

INTERESTING FACTS

Clemens von Metternich

Clemens von Metternich (1773-1859) - Austrian diplomat and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Austrian Empire in 1809-48. During the Napoleonic Wars, he became one of the most influential and most skillful diplomats of that time. Under his leadership, the Vienna Congress of 1814-15 was held, which determined the new structure of Europe after the victory over Napoleon. And Austria, which was defeated in almost all battles, moving from one coalition to another (in 1812, Austrian units even participated in Napoleon’s campaign in Russia, although they were in the anti-French coalition before and after this war), received almost the largest territorial conquests thanks to diplomatic art von Metternich.

Subsequently, until his retirement in 1848, von Metternich remained a pillar of reaction in Europe, pursuing a policy aimed at suppressing any free-thinking, supporting the system of absolutism with all his might. With his active participation, student movements in Germany were suppressed, the introduction of constitutions was delayed in those states where they had not yet been adopted. The constitutional movements in Italy and Spain were suppressed by force of arms, and the liberation movement against Turkish rule in Greece took six whole years to achieve the formation of an independent Greek state, which Metternich also strongly opposed.

And only the whirlwind of the European revolutions of 1848 forced this striking reactionary to resign, von Metternich even had to hide and then flee to the UK. True, already in 1852 he returned to Vienna and took his former high position in society, Emperor Franz Joseph I often turned to him for advice, although he no longer received official posts from von Metternich.

WHAT TO SEE

In the Czech castle Kinzhvart open to view twenty-five rooms. Among them are the grand empire Malachite, Blue (Napoleon) and Staircase halls, as well as a small but charming dark living room, the chancellor’s office with a folding table, used during the Vienna Congress of 1814-15. In the Green Hall there is a gallery of portraits of the Habsburgs and representatives of the Metternich family. The billiard room is famous for its Russian billiards, donated by the Russian emperor Nicholas I.

Also interesting are the castle weapons room with a collection of more than 220 items of cold steel and firearms, a smoking salon in the Renaissance style, and the Great Hall with sculptures by Antonio Canova. In the chapel of Kinzhvart Castle in the marble altar are the relics of St. Boniface (a gift from Pope Gregory XVI). And, of course, Chancellor von Metternich’s library with over 24,000 rare old books is the largest aristocratic library in the Czech Republic. One of the most popular places of the Czech Kinzhvart castle is the Kunstkamera - there are many items related to famous people - the crest of Maria Theresa, the shoes of Pope Gregory XVI, the prayer book of Marie Antoinette, the desk and chair of Alexander Dumas, the Turkish amulet of Lord Byron, archaeological finds from Pompey, Peru, Egypt (there is even a mummy) and many other interesting rarities.

After exploring the interiors of the Czech castle Kinzhvart do not forget to stroll along the alleys of the castle park - also a masterpiece of classicism, but already landscape art, created by the Viennese designer Riedl under the direction of Clemens von Metternich. Located on an area of \u200b\u200b100 hectares, the Kinžvart Castle Park is one of the largest in the Czech Republic, three rivers flow through it, several ponds, the chapel of St. Krzyž and the statues of the goddess Diana are arranged. There is also a house for birds of prey wounded in nature.

The Czech castle Kinzhvart is open to visitors, like most Czech castles, from April to October daily, except Monday, according to the following schedule:

In April and October it is only open on Saturdays and Sundays. You can visit in February, March and November, but only by reservation. Moreover, for groups of up to 25 people, the total cost of the tour is 4250   Cron ( 190 Euro). In normal times, the price of admission is 150 CZK   for an adult 90 CZK    for a child from 6 to 15 years old and 390 CZK   - family ticket.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

To get by car, drive from Karlovy Vary to the west on the motorway 6 (E48), after 40 kilometers use the ramp 162   to the road 21   in the direction of the Plan, Marianske Lazne ( Plana, Marianske Lazne), after 14 kilometers, turn left at the signs for the castle and Lazne Kinzhvart, along this road, following the signs, drive about 2 kilometers, the Kinzhvart castle will be on the right side of the road, parking is right next to the castle.

Kinzhvart Castle is one of the oldest in the Czech Republic. It was built on the site of an ancient fortress, which was erected in the XIII century. The citadel was built in a dangerous place - the Slavkov Forest, where robbers often hunted in those days.

From 1681 the castle passed into the ownership of the wealthy Metternich family and until 1945 did not change its owners.

A strict, solid castle was rebuilt in the classical style in 1820-1839 by order of the Chancellor of the emperor himself - Mr. Metternich-Winneburg. This structure was designed to emphasize the influence and weight of the prince in front of other nobles. The castle is fully consistent with the expectations of its owner. It is devoid of frivolous decor, in some ways even ascetic, strictly proportional and symmetrical.

The Mitternich family lost all their property, including this comfortable castle, which housed family treasures, as well as collections of various items, in 1945. Since then, the castle is open to the public. It has a museum.

Visitors will be interested to visit the office, which contains gizmos belonging to famous people. There you can see Byron's pendant, the Bible of Marie Antoinette and so on.

The castle is surrounded by a luxurious park in the English style. The greenery of the lawns is in good harmony with the light facade and tile of restrained color. In the park, unobtrusive centuries-old trees grow, romantic carved arbors also promise a shadow, the pond reflects the blue of heaven and serves as the residence of ducks.

A golf course is located in a secluded corner of the park.

I heard about the “All-Union” children's Czech health resort called Kinzhvart on one of my visits to Karlovy Vary. Our guide praised this resort, told how wonderful they treat the children who can be in the sanatorium, both with parents and without them. Since then, the name of the sanatorium has been deposited in my memory, and I often came across it in the topics “Treatment in the Czech Republic”.

After numerous and protracted colds in children last winter, we decided upon arrival in Karlovy Vary to go to this sanatorium for treatment. On the sanatorium’s website 6 meals a day (!) Were promised, meals and trips, round-the-clock medical monitoring (a nurse is constantly on duty in each building), procedures, a swimming pool, treatment of diseases of not only the respiratory system, but also digestion (there is a mineral spring in the sanatorium water), and the presence of a washing machine and dryer in each building.

It sounded so tempting that the named amount of 3.5 thousand euros for 5 weeks of stay did not bother us. I was convinced that it would be difficult for me to have two children in Karlovy Vary, and even at the end of the second trimester of pregnancy. And there I would rest from cooking and cleaning, I would take the children to procedures and walks. In our free time, we would do numerous homework for the summer at our advanced school ...

The arrival date was announced from the sanatorium on June 9 and at the same time the cost and duration of the arrival were announced for 5 weeks (initially we planned 21 days).

A couple of days before this date, I started training camps. Imagine what it feels like, one to pack things for yourself and 2 children, wash and leave 2 apartments in proper form, free the refrigerator from spoiled products for 5 weeks, etc.

Bags accumulated 11 pieces: 1) medicine; 2) a separate nebulizer; 3) a backpack with textbooks; 4) a small backpack with toys; 5) a bag with a laptop; 6) a bag with chargers, hard drives and iPads; 7) a backpack with rollers; 8) cooler bag with cookies and yoghurts (do not throw away the same); 9) a case with fragile ampoules and shampoo bottles ;, 10) shoes (4 pairs for children, including shales and 3 pairs for me); 11) and a large heavy suitcase with clothes for three based on all weather conditions. You will find too much, I will cross out and will not take it anymore :)

When all this was folded at the doorstep, the clock was 6 in the morning. Naturally, I didn’t get enough sleep, how to drag it all, first, down (we have 2 flights to the elevator and 1 flight from the elevator to the street on foot), and secondly to the car, which is 5 blocks from at home. Then we did not have a parking card. We stood at the door, distributing what each of us would carry from the lungs to the car; fortunately, the bell rang. The head physician of the local health resort Lazne V, who acted as an intermediary in our negotiations with Kinzhvart, said that a letter had arrived, there were some problems in the sanatorium and they postponed our check-in for 2 weeks until June 24th.

Later I realized that if only one suitcase was pulled down, my pregnancy could be in danger. That bell sounded literally at the last minute!

Forces to disassemble the suitcases were neither moral nor physical. We lived those 2 weeks, pulling things out as needed. But during this time we made a parking card, and our car legally stood at the entrance.

On the eve of arrival, the head physician called Lazne5 again from the sanatorium and asked us to arrive through Friday until 12 noon. For some reason, their letters to my email were returned to them with a note that my mailbox took them for spam. They did not write to other emails I proposed and did not call me on the phone, although there was a Russian-speaking employee. These are the difficulties of translation, as a result of which a lot of information was lost.

Upon arrival, we found that the room was not reserved for us for 5 weeks, but only for 10 days. I asked to extend the stay until at least 21 days so that the children received a standard course of treatment. We were warned that in this case in 10 days we would have to move to another building. We had to agree, we should not get used to packing.

The cashier took us to a room on the 4th floor of the same building, where the reception desk was located on such a steep spiral staircase.

   I'll start with a room that I didn’t like right away. Very cramped room with shower and toilet and carpet. And this is in a sanatorium where even dog walking is prohibited due to allergies in young patients. And Stefan is allergic to dust. He is strictly forbidden to stay in a room with carpets and carpet.

The table in the room was, but very low, at the level of my knee, and without chairs. It was impossible to do lessons for him either to Mark or to Stephen. Two 1.5 sleeping beds were pushed into a niche so that access to them was only through legs and crawling. Imagine what it was like for me to crawl back and forth with my stomach every 5 minutes at the first call of the children (“I shook,” “My computer does not turn on,” “I want to eat ...”). Moreover, it turned out to be not full beds with at least some mattress, but sofa couches. My pelvic bones of day 3 still ached after the sanatorium, and slept there very poorly. The shower had to be held by hands, otherwise it would fall. And a bunch of little things that spoiled the rest all the time that we were in the room.

On the one hand, I’m used to everything in this life. But for 3.5 thousand euros, I expected something more comfortable and more hygienic. As it turned out later, we were not accommodated in the usual building, but in the guest room where parents come to visit the children being treated. But we reserved almost a month in advance! I'm sure you could pick something up during this time. Moreover, some local residents come to the sanatorium only for the weekend or for a period of 7-10 days, the rotation is constant. Either the attitude to the Russians, or the difficulties of translation.

For a modest reward (I insisted) I was kindly helped to drag a heavy suitcase to the 4th floor along that spiral staircase (I asked). We dragged the rest with the children ourselves, going down and getting up several times. So in any case, the norm for lowering and lifting weights for pregnant women that day was exceeded at times. Of course, the stomach pulled significantly. But fortunately nothing happened. All the rest of the time in the sanatorium I had to overcome these steep steps several times a day with some kind of burden in my hands: a backpack with rollers, bags with groceries, etc.

Lunch at 12 o'clock pleased. Tasty cooked, with good products, large portions. The menu of hot dishes was clearly made taking into account children's priorities: if chicken, then soft and stewed, if cutlet, then in the form of paste ... That's just the number of hot dishes per day was only 2 (!), And not 6, as it was stated. And on Wednesday and Sunday, food (I mean hot, not dry rations with bread) was generally one-time - just lunch!

We learned about this at dinner at 17 o’clock, when we were given a packed lunch for the evening: VERY MUCH rye bread and butter and a couple of apples. In the evening, the children refused to eat bread with caraway seeds and after 19 hours they asked for food. It’s good that we had with us. Flakes and milk from the house saved us. But the fact itself made me wonder what I will feed the children tomorrow.

At 5 p.m., I began to look for the promised doctor for the appointment of procedures on Saturday. Maybe they told me the name of the building, where he will be waiting for us. But, as a newcomer, she quickly became entangled in numerous buildings: our building, the case with procedures, the dining room, the building with the pool, residential buildings ... But there is no one to ask. These children and I ran to the steep hill several times in search of a doctor, until a kind woman from the pool phoned all the buildings and found us on-call doctor.

The doctor wrote out the procedures only on Saturday, saying that on Monday at 9 am there will be a head doctor who will fully familiarize himself with the medical records and prescribe a more complete course. Upon learning that Stefan had attacks of laryngitis with stenosis, she gave us an adrenaline ampoule (we do not treat them with attacks) and a hormone prednisone suppository, which replaces the injection. She also reported the emergency nurse’s internal phone number, as there weren’t any nurse in our building (!).

We must pay tribute to the entire staff of the sanatorium from doctors, nurses on the procedures, cooks and other employees of the sanatorium was very friendly and welcoming. Nowhere else in the Czech Republic have I seen such a concentration of warmth and kindness on the part of local residents per unit area.

Of the inconsistencies promised was still mineral water. The source is paid.

Throw a coin into the machine, water flows. But for the patients of the sanatorium there was a delivery of water. I was vaguely told that there was some kind of abstract car, stopping that on the road (yeah, seeing through the window and quickly escaping from the 4th floor, probably) and handing your container (empty plastic bottles) you can get water. How and when they will deliver it to me, if we are not in place, and the front door is locked, they could not explain to me. Just found somewhere in the water in a used bottle with a slight aftertaste of lemonade. It seems that they have not worked out anything, although the sanatorium is already 100 years old, judging by the architecture of the buildings. We also hoped for hydrotherapy for children, paying for such an expensive stay in a sanatorium.

In the next photo, the building in which we lived. Our 2 windows are on the top floor.

Behind the fence, right under the windows there is a mini-playground with a rusty slide and a puddle under it. But even on this platform under the windows I could not let the children go alone, because a) the territory of the sanatorium is not fenced and outsiders constantly go to the source through it; b) just a step from the front door there is a regular expressway, on which cars are so pressurized that they climb so steeply that they whistle! They will play, step to the side and there is no child. Curliness and unpredictability of 5 and 8 year old children knows no bounds.

Because of this, children had to constantly accompany up and down even the smallest trifle. This is despite the fact that in Karlovy Vary Mark himself goes to the nearest supermarket through several intersections. Who would have thought that a remote sanatorium in a quiet place in this regard is more dangerous than a city.

It was along this path to the steep hill that we had to go to the dining room, to the procedures and to the playgrounds several times a day. It may be more useful for someone to walk, but not in my position in the middle of pregnancy and not in such volumes per day. Plus multiple climb to the 4th floor, because the children always had to be escorted to the room, they themselves could not open and close the door with a key. And they constantly forgot something, or just going down, we could see the clothes mismatch the weather. More clearly, the steepness of the slope can be estimated by the horizon here in this photo. This is he, only in profile.

We had to kick and wake the children up the hill for breakfast at half past seven in the morning. It was a pity, but what to do, you need to be hot! What a shock when I saw that only hot cocoa was warm for breakfast. In the photo, it is in a jug.

And in paper bags was food No. 2 of the promised 6. There was again a lot of bread and a couple of apples (another time, it seems, they gave 2 oranges). They did not spare bread and butter. They were in excess all 6 times a day. Try to argue that the promised 6 meals a day were not.

I was in shock. It has been a year since we cured gastritis in children. Looking ahead, I’ll say that upon returning from Kinzhvart a day the children complained of stomach pain. And this is after the sanatorium, where they treat diseases of the digestive system! I wonder how they adjust the overweight of young patients, as they stated on the Internet? Instead of 10 pieces of bread give 9?

From the assortment, to be exact, instead of a Sunday dinner they gave a pate (1 serving), again a lot of butter and bread, a couple of vacuum packs of hard cheese, 3 yoghurts. Maybe she missed something of the little things like jam, but still, this is not the hot food that children need. In addition, 2 times a week (Wednesday and Sunday) the main course was only for lunch! And no stewed fruit or other drink, except for cocoa for breakfast. For a day, our table in the room was littered with bread and butter.

Then I realized that you can stay here only on one condition - to cook breakfast and dinner. There was a kitchen with a fridge and electric stove on the floor. But there was no utensil there.

So, I would have to go to Karlovy Vary, bring a couple more trunks with a saucepan, plates, mugs, spoons ... Plus, I would have to go to the supermarket every day for groceries - there was very little free space in the refrigerator.

Very cramped conditions in every sense of the word. And this, I repeat, for 3.5 thousand euros. Then I realized that everything that was supposed to serve the benefit of the health of children was harmful to them, including my winker. And the first thoughts came to go home to Karlovy Vary, where it is much cheaper to buy treatment in Lazne5, which is a 5-minute walk from us in the ROVNY area, where there is an elevator and a supermarket around the corner, where there is a market with fresh fruits and vegetables (in Kinzhvart, the children are a month would be deprived of seasonal vitamins!)

On the night of Saturday to Sunday, Stefan opened up at night, froze and puffed into bed. Well, it happens, you think, a child, after all. I took off the sheet and duvet cover, looked at the sink: I wash the laundry, but how to dry until the evening? Then we covered the entire basement in search of the promised laundry, but all the doors were locked. Later it turned out that the laundry was. That's just the key to it is in the registry, which is closed on Saturday and Sunday. An old man descending the stairs helped us to change the linen of the castellan of another building (he seems to be an employee of the sanatorium, maybe a watchman). He found out in which building to find a castell and told us.

Now I will show a photo of the issue itself, when it is clear what kind of mess there is and the hanging sheets.

But all these are flowers compared to the fact that Stefan still gave out an allergic reaction (most likely to the very carpet, or to dust that simply cannot be removed from under the beds stuck in a niche). On Monday morning, he began to have an attack of laryngitis. This test is not for the faint of heart, when a child in front of your eyes begins to suffocate. An hour I tried to relieve the attack by inhalation with a pulmonicort. At 8 o’clock I realized that I couldn’t cope, the wheezing was growing and then I called the nurse in the main building on the internal phone. Literally, I told her: "A child of 5 years has an attack of laryngitis, inhalation does not help, please help." To which I was told that there is no doctor now, he will be in an hour.

All. This was the last straw of my patience. I put Stefan a prednisone candle, continued inhalation with mineral water. It is good that we brought the nebulizer and water with us from Karlovy Vary. But the nurse didn’t even know if we had them. She didn’t even send us for mineral inhalation to the treatment building to relieve the attack, their inhalers are more powerful than ours. Only at 9 o’clock did the cough, if it did not stop, then soften and decrease. We were able to go out for breakfast. It’s good that our food wasn’t taken away. She stood for an hour. Cocoa was cold, but I didn't care anymore. The decision to leave was made, the main things were stacked. After the dining room, we went to the doctor, informed about our decision and spent an entire hour in the office waiting for unnecessary help. And I counted the seconds, because the child was on hormones, and I still needed time until the next attack to load things, pay at the registry and take the child with laryngitis 50 km to Karlovy Vary.

We are at home now. We are curing Stefan's cough, so far unchanged. We go for inhalation and to the salt cave in Lazne 5. Children fall asleep, eat off. But Mark and I caught the virus. We have a terrible runny nose, which in turn provokes a cough. Today I noticed that Stefan had a runny nose. Itself today was barely crawling at all. The temperature is nasty 37.1. But you need to cook, clean, do the dishes and lead the children to the procedures. So I have to do all this through “I can’t”. It is called, went to a sanatorium for treatment. By the way, in the case with the procedures in Kinzhvart there were children with cough and runny nose. I think this is a gift from there, and not a cold, but a virus. Because all three got sick.

Of the procedures in Kinzhvart only on Saturday the children received hydromassage, inhalation with mineral water and a light massage of the chest. Once again I will say that the staff showed themselves only on the positive side and was very friendly towards us and all patients.

For these 3 days I paid approximately 200 euros (4800 kroons). In general, this resort is very popular among Czechs. The thing is that they do not pay for it. Vouchers are provided for them under insurance. And they are insured, as a rule, by the enterprise in which they work. We happened to see families there clearly with very low incomes. They were happy to rest there for more than a month without any costs on their part. I even admit that a mother and a child from Russia suffering from bronchopulmonary diseases will benefit from treatment and stay in the Kinzhvart sanatorium. You just have to consider everything and stock up with everything you need. We have an alternative - Karlovy Vary with treatment in Lazne 5.

Maybe it’s only we were not lucky, we were put in the wrong place, they were sent to the wrong place, etc. But there is no desire to double-check and go there again. Recover soon from this trip. I myself had asthma attacks, the second time in my life. That's how the trip to the Kinzhvart children's sanatorium came to me.

I will say by postscript that, fortunately, all of these difficulties did not affect pregnancy. In September, we had a healthy baby J

Lazne Kinžvart - one of the cities of northwestern Bohemia, included in the famous "triangle" of Czech resorts: Karlovy Vary, Marianske Lazne, Frantiskovy Lazne. Due to its unique geographical position, the city is a well-known children's health resort that has existed for almost 200 years.

Lazne Kinžvart as a resort

Located on the edge of the famous relict Slavkovsky forest (coniferous and mixed), on the slopes of the Tatra Mountains (670 meters above sea level), bounded by a peat bog, the resort town has long attracted attention with its climate and healing springs. In 1822, the family of the famous Chancellor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire Metternich, who owned the estate in these parts, founded the resort, although the town of Kinzvart has been known since the X century.

The attention of the head of the family was attracted by the sources of mineral waters, which are still actively used in the treatment of diseases of the respiratory tract and urinary system.

Until 1950, it was a resort for everyone, mainly for adults, but after a pertussis epidemic that hit many children in the country, the resort was completely converted for sanatorium treatment of children of preschool and school age.

In the sanatorium Lazne Kinzhvarta, all the conditions for children's health have been created: mineral springs, fitness, excellent equipment, a sauna. During school hours, the school operates at the sanatorium, and you can be treated and study at the same time. If the child is small, he can take a rehabilitation course with his parents.

Today it is a resort of world significance.

Natural monuments

The uniqueness of Lazne-Kinzhvart is not only in the sources. This is a city in which there are many attractions, both natural and historical. In this sense, the city happily combines a place with history and natural wealth, a beautiful landscape and an example of the development of the Czech Republic as a state.

Near the city there are several natural monuments.

First of all, it is the relict Slavkovsky forest, which has the shape of a triangle. This is a mixed forest, partially coniferous. Many birds live here, plants grow that are characteristic only of the local area. This is a nature reserve protected by the state.

In the Slavkov Forest there is a peat bog along which a hiking trail is laid. There are unique plants in the swamp: swamp pine, sundew, protected by the state. But the most amazing thing that will amaze the imagination of tourists is natural gas and small geysers, which suddenly begin to throw out streams of dirt. The spectacle is impressive.

In the Slavkov Forest there is a drop-shaped boulder with a flat top. It is granite, 6 meters high. Tourists always go up to the stone.

The Pastoral Beech, which grows on a plain at an altitude of 800 meters, also attracts attention. The first written mention of it was found in 1785, and already at that time it was a huge tree, so its age is much greater. The beech has a girth of 588 cm, its height is 22 meters, and the crown is spread over 21 meters! A powerful beautiful tree remembers more than one historical event that happened in his lifetime.

Another very interesting and natural and historical monument is the canal, built to melt the forest and supply water to the tin mines in 1536. It stretches for 24 km, crosses the entire Slavkovsky forest, but is not used for its intended purpose.

And finally, acquaintance with the natural monuments of Lazne Kinzhvart can be completed at the highest point of the surrounding mountains - Lesnaya Gora, at an altitude of about 1000 meters.

Historic Monuments in Lazne Kinžvart

The history of Lazne Kinzhvarta is rich and diverse. It is located very close to the border with Germany, and was constantly the subject of territorial disputes between the German principalities and the Czech Republic. To protect the city, in the 13th century a fortress castle was built, from which today there are ruins, but still the plan of the fortress and its internal layout can be imagined. The townspeople themselves say: "The castle did not suffer from natural forces, stood the test of time, but did not survive human stupidity." The fact is that the active destruction of the fortress began in the XIX century, when the stones of the castle began to be used in urban construction.

In the fortress was a military garrison. In those days, the military were a little border guards, a little robbers, and now the castle is sometimes called a robber. Construction was probably begun by Vaclav II, and Ottokar II completed it. The ruins of the castle tower and the fortress walls were preserved, with a perimeter of 151 meters. They rise on a steep rock, and if you wish, you can imagine how the fortress garrison lived here in the distant time. An interesting solution, which fastened the masonry: it is red in color and has a greater bonding strength and resistance to water. Built for centuries. The remains of the tiled roof, also red, are found in the fortress. Medieval builders even then thought not only about the power and strength of the defensive structure, but also the beauty of the structure.

The second castle in the city belonged to the Metternich family. By the 70s of the twentieth century, it fell into decay, but is now restored and turned into a museum.
Clemens Metternich, the famous Chancellor of Austria-Hungary, a famous diplomat of the Napoleonic Wars, loved to relax in the peace and quiet of Kinzwart (the city received the second part of the name when it became a resort). But the castle was not built by him, but by his ancestor, more precisely, he received it as a reward for faithful service. In the XIX century, the castle was rebuilt in the neoclassical style, and today it pleases guests and residents of the city with its strict and at the same time magnificent view. Built in the shape of the letter “P”, low (only two floors), bright, it gives an idea of \u200b\u200bthe life of aristocrats in Austria-Hungary.

Even more interesting is a tour of the castle, where the chancellor’s original things were preserved, for example, a travel desk, a witness to the Vienna Congress, where Metternich worked.

The castle has one of the best castle libraries, numbering 24 thousand volumes, including 130 rare manuscripts and publications. The library began to be collected by the Archbishop of Trier Lothar Metternich, after his death she was transported to the estate.

The second most interesting collection is numismatic; it has been collected for centuries. There are very rare coins, for example, ancient Roman and ancient Greek.

The interior of the premises in the castle can be seen on an excursion that costs 110 kroons, a discount ticket - 90 kroons. On Mondays, the estate is closed, and in the winter months the museum is open for reservation.

Lazne Kinžvart is a beautiful and distinctive city that always welcomes guests with cordiality and hospitality.