Vranov n. D., tel.: 0624 - 97215

Originally a defensive castle mentioned as early as around 1100. The current monumental Baroque chateau, situated on a rocky headland, was built by the Althans at the tum of the 17^th and 18^th centuries (the hall of ancestors, chapel of Fischer from Erlach) and during the 18^th century (the residential building of the chateau).
Originally a royal castle, it formed part of the defence system in the region along the river Dyje at the time of the Premyslids. In 1421 it passed over to the Lichtenbergs. It was situated on a steep rock, accessible only from the west across a bridge. After heavy damage suffered in the Thirty - Years' War and the fire in 1665, three stages of building changed it into a baroque mansion. A large ancestral hall was built on an eliptical ground plan from 1687 to 1695 according to the design by J. B. Fischer of Erlach. The architecture gives the castle its present majestic silhouette. The hall is decorated with statues by T. Kracker and with a magnificent fresco by J. M. Rottmayr 95\. A private chapel was built by the year 1700 and bulding work on the mansion continued after 1702 under the supervision of A. E. Martinelli; it was completed in the spirit of Classicism in 1787. Vranov mansion is the most valuable example of Viennese baroque architecture in the Czech Republic.
Classical type interiors richly decorated with murals and period furnishings. Collections featuring the production of eartheware in the Vranov region in the 18^th century.