Slavkov Castle

Slavkov Castle (also known as Austerlitz Castle; Czech: zámek Slavkov, German: Schloss Austerlitz) is a Baroque palace in Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic. The town and the castle are chiefly known for the Battle of Austerlitz.

The first castle at the site was erected by the Teutonic Knights in the early 13th century, then the seat of a commandry within their Bohemian bailiwick. In the early 16th century it passed to the Moravian noble house of Kaunitz who had it rebuilt in a Renaissance style.

The present-day palace with 115 rooms was erected from 1696 onwards according to plans designed by the Italian architect Domenico Martinelli. The conversion was finished under Prince Wenzel Anton of Kaunitz-Rietberg more than fifty years later. Wenzel Anton hired the painter Joseph Pichler to apply frescoes in the chapel and the ceremonial hall of the castle. The impressive garden in a French style modelled on the Gardens of Versailles was laid out in 1774. In the oval ceremonial hall (the "Historic Salon"), an armistice was signed between Austria and France after the Battle of Austerlitz on 6 December 1805. There is a small historic museum and a multimedia presentation about the battle.

Text adapted from “Slavkov Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Slavkov Castle ranks #2,555 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #68 of the 200 mapped in Czech Republic. Founded 1769, it is older than 16% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 525 atlas entries founded in the 18th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,525 times in the last 60 days, more than 59% of the atlas. Wikidata records about 22,000 visitors in 2022. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Brno, 20 km away. See how Czech Republic compares in the castle statistics.

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