Ratibořice
Encyclopedia
Ratibořice Château is a château
located 2.5 km north of Česká Skalice
and about 10 km west of Náchod
, in the Hradec Králové
region, Czech Republic
. It stands on an elevated plain below which valley in the bend of the Úpa river widens. Together with Babiččino údolí (Grandmother's valley), situated between Česká Skalice and Havlovice
, it offers the gentle beauty of the Baroque archtecture and Bohemian landscape, ranking among the best-known and most frequented places in East Bohemia
. They have become fixed in the minds of the wide public thanks to the most beautiful work of the writer Božena Němcová
- Babička (The Grandmother).
estate, it definitely ceased to exist.
After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Trčka family owned the estate from 1623 to 1634, its last Czech owner being Adam Erdman Trčka, who lost his life along with Albrecht of Valdštejn
during the so-called "Cheb Execution". The emperor Ferdinand II
bestowed the confiscated estate on the Italian noble Ottavio Piccolomini "for his royal services".
summer palace built at Ratibořice which he intended to use for summer sojourns and in hunting period. The small château was built in the style of Italian country villas and similarly as the château at Hostivice
and Kákov, it ranked among the unique samples of this type of lordly seat in this country.
The building, erected on a slightly rhomboid ground-plan, has one storey, a hipped roof and an unusual roof structure with six chimneys. Both the ground-floor and the first floor have one large hall lined with residential chambers. The two oppositely situated staircases are inserted in the centre of the layout. The former chapel now lies below the level of the ground-floor of the servants' wing, built in the latter half of the 18th century.
In 1792 the indebted estate was purchased by Duke Kuronský, Zemgalský, Litevský and Zaháňský, Petr von Biron. In 1795 the duke renounced his land (Kuronsko) to the Empress Catherine II and moved permanently to Zaháň and Náchod. Ratibořice became Petr Biron’s favorite summer seat.
and Prussia
. Similarly as at nearby Opočno
, members of the future “Holy Alliance” discussed the question of their common measures against the Emperor Napoleon of France. Kateřina Zaháňská ranked among the passionate opponents of the “great conqueror” and rendered assistance and support to everyone who helped to accelerate his fall.
In 1839 Kateřina Zaháňská died and the estate was inherited by her sister Paulina. She resided permanently on the estates in Prussia and soon sold the estate in Bohemia. In the years 1840 to 1842 it was the property of the imperial count Octavian Lippe-Biesterfeld, from whom it was bought by one of his relations, the imperial prince Jiří Vilém, ruler of Schaumburg-Lippe
in northern Germany
, for 2.5 million gold florins. Apart from the château at Náchod
, Ratibořice and Chvalkovice, some 113 villages and small towns, large forests and mines at Statoňovice belonged to the estate at that time. After the death of J. Vilém in 186o the estates were taken over by his yonger son Vilém Karel August, founder of the Náchod branch of the family.
It was at that time that Ratibořice Château was subjected to its last important reconstruction. The plasters were broken up by pilasters, a new stove was installed in the interior, the walls were newly papered and the servants’ wing was reconstructed. On 8 June 1866 one of the battles of the Prussian-Austrian War was fought at Česká Skalice
, situated near Ratibořice. After the war the Schaumburg family expended considerable sums on the renewal of the destroyed farm and also had a number of war memorials erected at their own cost. The Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
visited Ratibořice during his tour of the battlefields of this war in 1866.
After the duke’s death in 1880 the Náchod estate was inherited by Petr’s daughter Kateřina Frederika Benigna, Duchess of Zaháň, known from B. Němcová‘s novel’s Babička, as the “lady princess”. The beautiful and brilliantly-minded duchess was brought up in the spirit of romantism of the time. She surrounded herself with a prominent circle of friends from the ranks of artists, philosophers and politicians and devoted her attention to social events, politics and travel. Klemen Brühl, the family historian, wrote the following about her: “She is remarkable mature, she has a beautiful figure and face, she is proud and full of dignity, she enchants everyone with her kindness and female weakness.”
The last owner of the château was Prince Bedřích Schaumburg-Lippe. During World War II
it was occupied by the German army and in 1945 it became estate property. In 1976 Ratibořice Château and the whole area of Babičičino údolí were proclaimed a National Cultural Monument. After the compleition of the complex restoration of the château in 1991 the interior of the building was once again made accessible to the public. In 1994 the ground-floor was also opened to visitors.
in Copenhagen
. It comes from the property of the wife of the last owner of the château, Prince Bedřich. She was Princess Louise of Denmark, third child and oldest daughter of King Frederick VIII of Denmark
and his wife, Louise of Sweden.
is also displayed here in a cabinet.
.
and canvasses with mythological themes.
style, witnessed conservations about fashion. The interior is dominated by a portrait of Princess Louisa of Denmark by the painter Otto Bastr and a two-part bureau of hard polished wood. The atmosphere of the Ladies’ Salon is enhanced by two classical mirrors hanging on the sides of the French windows.
.
No. 9 to their commanding officer Prince Bedřich, whose portrait in the uniform of a Hungarian general hangs above the sofa. The large round vase from Copenhagen on the corner shelf also attracts great attention.
and Lake Maggiore
in Italy
. This interior is the last of the state rooms, which are followed by private chambers.
Situated beyond the connecting passage is the Foster-daughters’ Chamber, which is imbued with the atmosphere of Biedermeier comfort and good cheer and evokes memories of another well-known character of Babička - Countess Hortensie. The Antechamber is the last room on the first floor, and includes a multi-coloured painted Viennese vase with a Classical motif.
The former watering-place for cattle was lent the form of a lake and in 1830 a greenhouse. The so-called “pineapple house”, was built by the lower edge of the park. It stands on the site of the original Old Bleaching Ground where in reality Barunka Panklová spent her early childhood. The later flat of the Pankl family is situated behind the greenhouse, on the ground-floor of the former barn.
The fenced-in park surrounding the château passed into a more openly designed landscape parl which comprised the whole of the present valley Babičičino udolí, from 1952 a Landscape and Nature Preserve and now a National Natural Monument. A path called “Bathildina stezka” (Bathilda’s Path) runs into the valley from the château park. On the way to the mill, we pass along the high brick wall of the former manorial garden called “Květnice” (Flower Garden) of 1801.
The miller Antonín Ruder ranked among the wealthy freeholders of the time. He acquired the mill through marriage and in 1773 it was rebuilt by the grandfather of Barunka’s friend Mančinka, Antonín Ruder. His son, “pan otec” (Mr. father), i.e. the miller from the novel Babička, sold the mill to the Schaumburgs in 1842. This family had a Late Empire building containing a fishing room and a Mangle built on the opposite bank of the mill drive.
Standing under the lime tree in front of the mill is a Statue of the Virgin Mary which, as the donation inscription of 1796 tell us, was erected at the cost of the Ratibořice miller Antonín Ruder and his wife Anna.
If we walk upstream of the mill drive we find ourselves – after covering a little less than one hundred metres – standing by one of the symbols of Ratibořice. It is a monument called Grandmother and Her Grandchildren. Its foundation stone was laid in July 1920 on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the writer Božena Němcová. The solemn unveiling of the monument took place on 9 July 1922 and was widely attended by societies, corporations and prominent persons from the whole republic. The group of statues was realized in sandstone by the sculptor Otto Gutfreund after his own design in whose case he cooperated with the architect Professor Pavel Janák.
Standing opposite the monument by the drive is the former “Panská hospoda” (Manorial Inn). Along with a forge, it already stood here in the 16th century. From 1738 the Celba family ran the place. Kristila, Barunka’s older friend, was the daughter of the innkeeper František Celba and his wife Anna. It was from 1858 that the inn began to be called “Manorial Inn”, it being in that year that prince Jiří Vilém Scahumburg-Lippe purchased it from Dominik Celba. In 1898 the composer Karel Kovařovic lived here, being inspired by the locality to write his opera "Na Starém bělidle" (On the Old Bleaching Ground).
In spite of the fact that Kateřina Zaháňská had the Old Bleaching Ground demolished in connection with the adaptations and enlargement of the park, it was just here that Božena Němcová situated the plot of her novel Babička.
Furnished according to the narration of the writer – with period furniture and small articles from the property of the Božena Němcová Museum at Česká Skalice.
The route from Viktorka’s Weir to the so-called “Bílý most” (White Bridge) and “Červený most” (Red Bridge) continues through the landscape valley. Opening up beyond the bridges is a view of “Rýzmburský altán” (Rýzmburk Arbour), built above a steep slope in the ruins of a medieval castle of the same name at the end of the 18th century. It gained its present appearance in 1912.
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
located 2.5 km north of Česká Skalice
Ceská Skalice
Česká Skalice is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has cca 5,500 inhabitants.-External links:* *...
and about 10 km west of Náchod
Náchod
Náchod -History:Náchod was founded in 14th century by knight Hron of Načeradice, who founded a castle on a strategical place, where local trade road reaches the defile called Branka. The first written note dates back to 1254.-Castle:...
, in the Hradec Králové
Hradec Králové
Hradec Králové is a city of the Czech Republic, in the Hradec Králové Region of Bohemia. The city's economy is based on food-processing technology, photochemical, and electronics manufacture. Traditional industries include musical instrument manufacturing – the best known being PETROF pianos...
region, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. It stands on an elevated plain below which valley in the bend of the Úpa river widens. Together with Babiččino údolí (Grandmother's valley), situated between Česká Skalice and Havlovice
Havlovice
Havlovice is a village and municipality in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. -References:...
, it offers the gentle beauty of the Baroque archtecture and Bohemian landscape, ranking among the best-known and most frequented places in East Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. They have become fixed in the minds of the wide public thanks to the most beautiful work of the writer Božena Němcová
Božena Nemcová
Božena Němcová was a Czech writer of the final phase of the Czech National Revival movement.-Biography:...
- Babička (The Grandmother).
Estate
In the Middle Ages a village named Ratibořice was a farm and it stood here. Situated above it, on the site called "On Old Ratibořice", was a knights' stroghold which was mentioned in 1388 as the seat of Vaněk of Žampach. In 1464 Ratibořice was purchased by Aleš of Rýzmburk. At the time of Petr Andršpach of Dubá, the stronghold was attached to the Rýzmburk estate. In 1534 it was described already in the Land Rolls as deserted. About the year 1565 it was repaired again, but after 1582, during the period of rule of the Smiřický family and after its attachement to the NáchodNáchod
Náchod -History:Náchod was founded in 14th century by knight Hron of Načeradice, who founded a castle on a strategical place, where local trade road reaches the defile called Branka. The first written note dates back to 1254.-Castle:...
estate, it definitely ceased to exist.
After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Trčka family owned the estate from 1623 to 1634, its last Czech owner being Adam Erdman Trčka, who lost his life along with Albrecht of Valdštejn
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...
during the so-called "Cheb Execution". The emperor Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
bestowed the confiscated estate on the Italian noble Ottavio Piccolomini "for his royal services".
Construction
In the years 1702 to 1708 the then owner of the estate Lorenzo Piccolomini had a BaroqueBaroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
summer palace built at Ratibořice which he intended to use for summer sojourns and in hunting period. The small château was built in the style of Italian country villas and similarly as the château at Hostivice
Hostivice
Hostivice is a town in the Czech Republic, a suburb on the west border of Prague. Its population is about 6,500. It is close to the international airport Praha-Ruzyně and on the main road from Prague to Karlovy Vary .-External links:...
and Kákov, it ranked among the unique samples of this type of lordly seat in this country.
The building, erected on a slightly rhomboid ground-plan, has one storey, a hipped roof and an unusual roof structure with six chimneys. Both the ground-floor and the first floor have one large hall lined with residential chambers. The two oppositely situated staircases are inserted in the centre of the layout. The former chapel now lies below the level of the ground-floor of the servants' wing, built in the latter half of the 18th century.
In 1792 the indebted estate was purchased by Duke Kuronský, Zemgalský, Litevský and Zaháňský, Petr von Biron. In 1795 the duke renounced his land (Kuronsko) to the Empress Catherine II and moved permanently to Zaháň and Náchod. Ratibořice became Petr Biron’s favorite summer seat.
Reconstruction
After its reconstruction in the years 1825 to 1826 the château acquired the form of an elegant seat in the late Central European Classical and Empire style. The environs in the spacious natural landscape park were adjusted simultaneously with the reconstruction work on the château building. Before its reconstruction was started the duchess made the château available for diplomatic negotiations between her friend of many years, the Austrian chancellor K.W.L. Metternich, and representatives of RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. Similarly as at nearby Opočno
Opocno
Opočno is a small town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic.- Famous natives :* František Kupka, painter* Jaroslav Plašil, football player* František Zdeněk Skuherský, composer* Luboš Sluka, composer- External links :*...
, members of the future “Holy Alliance” discussed the question of their common measures against the Emperor Napoleon of France. Kateřina Zaháňská ranked among the passionate opponents of the “great conqueror” and rendered assistance and support to everyone who helped to accelerate his fall.
In 1839 Kateřina Zaháňská died and the estate was inherited by her sister Paulina. She resided permanently on the estates in Prussia and soon sold the estate in Bohemia. In the years 1840 to 1842 it was the property of the imperial count Octavian Lippe-Biesterfeld, from whom it was bought by one of his relations, the imperial prince Jiří Vilém, ruler of Schaumburg-Lippe
Schaumburg-Lippe
Schaumburg-Lippe was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present day state of Lower Saxony, with its capital at Bückeburg.- History :...
in northern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, for 2.5 million gold florins. Apart from the château at Náchod
Náchod
Náchod -History:Náchod was founded in 14th century by knight Hron of Načeradice, who founded a castle on a strategical place, where local trade road reaches the defile called Branka. The first written note dates back to 1254.-Castle:...
, Ratibořice and Chvalkovice, some 113 villages and small towns, large forests and mines at Statoňovice belonged to the estate at that time. After the death of J. Vilém in 186o the estates were taken over by his yonger son Vilém Karel August, founder of the Náchod branch of the family.
It was at that time that Ratibořice Château was subjected to its last important reconstruction. The plasters were broken up by pilasters, a new stove was installed in the interior, the walls were newly papered and the servants’ wing was reconstructed. On 8 June 1866 one of the battles of the Prussian-Austrian War was fought at Česká Skalice
Ceská Skalice
Česká Skalice is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has cca 5,500 inhabitants.-External links:* *...
, situated near Ratibořice. After the war the Schaumburg family expended considerable sums on the renewal of the destroyed farm and also had a number of war memorials erected at their own cost. The Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
visited Ratibořice during his tour of the battlefields of this war in 1866.
After the duke’s death in 1880 the Náchod estate was inherited by Petr’s daughter Kateřina Frederika Benigna, Duchess of Zaháň, known from B. Němcová‘s novel’s Babička, as the “lady princess”. The beautiful and brilliantly-minded duchess was brought up in the spirit of romantism of the time. She surrounded herself with a prominent circle of friends from the ranks of artists, philosophers and politicians and devoted her attention to social events, politics and travel. Klemen Brühl, the family historian, wrote the following about her: “She is remarkable mature, she has a beautiful figure and face, she is proud and full of dignity, she enchants everyone with her kindness and female weakness.”
The last owner of the château was Prince Bedřích Schaumburg-Lippe. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was occupied by the German army and in 1945 it became estate property. In 1976 Ratibořice Château and the whole area of Babičičino údolí were proclaimed a National Cultural Monument. After the compleition of the complex restoration of the château in 1991 the interior of the building was once again made accessible to the public. In 1994 the ground-floor was also opened to visitors.
Entrance Hall
Furnished with a set of original classical chairs, landscape paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries and two marble busts. Then follows the Biedermaier “Study” where a part of the new château library is housed in one of the original cabinets. The remainder of the former rich library of Kateřina Zaháňská was merged with the Náchod library in the latter half of the 19th century. Worthy of attention is a mobile cabinet with several drawers and a gilded cupola – the household pharmacy. The two busts of biscuit china belong in the small collection of products from the royal manufactoryRoyal Copenhagen
Royal Copenhagen, officially the Royal Porcelain Factory is a manufacturer of porcelain products and was founded in Copenhagen 1 May 1775 under the protection of Queen Juliane Marie...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. It comes from the property of the wife of the last owner of the château, Prince Bedřich. She was Princess Louise of Denmark, third child and oldest daughter of King Frederick VIII of Denmark
Frederick VIII of Denmark
Frederick VIII was King of Denmark from 1906 to 1912.-Early life:Frederick was born on 3 June 1843 in the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen as Prince Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior male line of the House of Oldenburg descended from Christian III of Denmark and who had...
and his wife, Louise of Sweden.
Reception Salon
The Reception Salon is hung with portraits of members of the Schaumburg-Lippe family and the Danish kings. Another part of the collection from the production of the royal china manufactory in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
is also displayed here in a cabinet.
The Social and The Music Salon
It was intended for social games and refreshment in the form of a cup of coffee or chocolate. The pattern of the wallpapers and the furnishings fall in the fading Classical period of the late 18th century and The Music Salon is furnished in Napoleocic Empire style and is provided with comfortable seating furniture with a number of musical instruments like a Streicher piano from ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Salon of the Three Emperors
The main stand room on the first floor is the Salon of the Three Emperors, whose name symbolically expresses the importance of Ratibořice during the Napoleonic wars. The Late Empire furniture is supplemented with a bronze clock from FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and canvasses with mythological themes.
Ladies Salon
While the gentlemen discussed political and military events over a cigar and a glass of wine, the Ladies’ Salon, also prevailingly representative of the Second RococoRococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style, witnessed conservations about fashion. The interior is dominated by a portrait of Princess Louisa of Denmark by the painter Otto Bastr and a two-part bureau of hard polished wood. The atmosphere of the Ladies’ Salon is enhanced by two classical mirrors hanging on the sides of the French windows.
Summer Dining-hall
The former garden room now serves as the Summer Dining-hall. A Neo-Baroque suite of furniture, complemented with blue vessels from the English Copenland manufactory, and the official portraits of princess Louisa’s parents – King Frederick VIII and Queen Louisa of Denmark - stand out well in this interior. The solemn character of the room is emphasized by drapes and a tablecloth of emerald green velvet.Schaumburg Room
Also called “the corner” has the character of a living room of the first half of the 19th century. Hanging above a chest of drawers with an alabaster clock is a representative portrait of Princess Bathildis and situated opposite it, between the windows, a portrait of her husband, Prince Vilém Karel Scaummburg-Lippe, in a uniform adorned with the family and Austrian orders.Graphic Chamber
The Graphic Chamber fulfils the function of a connecting room and it gained its name due to the interesting collection of sall paintings with subjects taken from the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden RealmDessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm
The Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, also known as the English Grounds of Wörlitz, is one of the first and largest English parks in Germany and continental Europe...
.
Study
The Study evokes to the greatest extent the atmosphere of the environment in which the Ratibořice “lord of the manor” lived in the latter half of the 19th century. The suite of furniture featuring the Second Rococo style is supplemented with a screen, the gift of the officers of the “Nádasdy” Hussar RegimentHussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
No. 9 to their commanding officer Prince Bedřich, whose portrait in the uniform of a Hungarian general hangs above the sofa. The large round vase from Copenhagen on the corner shelf also attracts great attention.
Chamber of the Princess
The best-known room in the entire château is the Chamber of the Princess, which inspired that the writer Božena Němcová to set the plot for one of the chapters of her novel Babička. Kateřina Zaháňská’s bent for travelling is brought to mind by a group of fourteen aquarellers portraying landscapes from the environs of Lake ComoLake Como
Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore...
and Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. This interior is the last of the state rooms, which are followed by private chambers.
Situated beyond the connecting passage is the Foster-daughters’ Chamber, which is imbued with the atmosphere of Biedermeier comfort and good cheer and evokes memories of another well-known character of Babička - Countess Hortensie. The Antechamber is the last room on the first floor, and includes a multi-coloured painted Viennese vase with a Classical motif.
Bedchamber and the Toilet Room
The bedchamber contains marriage beds with the carved aliance emblem of the Schaumburgs and Saxon Anhaltsko. The drapes and bed covers are made of red velvet. The toilet room, equipped with a washing set, a small table and a rotating mirror, a screen and a clothes stand, has a purely private character. The displayed uniform of Bedřich – a Hungarian general, complemented with accessories including a sword – is an item of great interest. The demolition of the old farm and its relocation at a greater distance from the château in 1811 created space for the laying-out of a Château Park.The Château Park
Kateřina Zaháňská had it designed and realized in the then fashionable English style. Originally she had a whole number of foreign, mainly North American trees planted in it. The first château gardener was a Czech named Karel Binder, his successor being Gottlich Bosse, to whom the main credit for the building-up of the park is attributed.The former watering-place for cattle was lent the form of a lake and in 1830 a greenhouse. The so-called “pineapple house”, was built by the lower edge of the park. It stands on the site of the original Old Bleaching Ground where in reality Barunka Panklová spent her early childhood. The later flat of the Pankl family is situated behind the greenhouse, on the ground-floor of the former barn.
The fenced-in park surrounding the château passed into a more openly designed landscape parl which comprised the whole of the present valley Babičičino udolí, from 1952 a Landscape and Nature Preserve and now a National Natural Monument. A path called “Bathildina stezka” (Bathilda’s Path) runs into the valley from the château park. On the way to the mill, we pass along the high brick wall of the former manorial garden called “Květnice” (Flower Garden) of 1801.
The Mill
It is a one-storey stone building with a built-on room for the common use of the farm hands and an out-building in the fenced-in yard. The greater part of the building is taken up by the so-called Milling Chamber, which is equipped with historic milling facilities of the 19th century. It is situated on the ground-floor and the first floor. On the ground-floor there also used to be a bakery with two chambers, while the first floor was occupied by the miller’s flat consisting of two rooms. The miller’s room is furnished in early 19th century village style, while Mančinka’s room, on the contrary, has a furniture of the character of a town burgher’s home.The miller Antonín Ruder ranked among the wealthy freeholders of the time. He acquired the mill through marriage and in 1773 it was rebuilt by the grandfather of Barunka’s friend Mančinka, Antonín Ruder. His son, “pan otec” (Mr. father), i.e. the miller from the novel Babička, sold the mill to the Schaumburgs in 1842. This family had a Late Empire building containing a fishing room and a Mangle built on the opposite bank of the mill drive.
Standing under the lime tree in front of the mill is a Statue of the Virgin Mary which, as the donation inscription of 1796 tell us, was erected at the cost of the Ratibořice miller Antonín Ruder and his wife Anna.
If we walk upstream of the mill drive we find ourselves – after covering a little less than one hundred metres – standing by one of the symbols of Ratibořice. It is a monument called Grandmother and Her Grandchildren. Its foundation stone was laid in July 1920 on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the writer Božena Němcová. The solemn unveiling of the monument took place on 9 July 1922 and was widely attended by societies, corporations and prominent persons from the whole republic. The group of statues was realized in sandstone by the sculptor Otto Gutfreund after his own design in whose case he cooperated with the architect Professor Pavel Janák.
Standing opposite the monument by the drive is the former “Panská hospoda” (Manorial Inn). Along with a forge, it already stood here in the 16th century. From 1738 the Celba family ran the place. Kristila, Barunka’s older friend, was the daughter of the innkeeper František Celba and his wife Anna. It was from 1858 that the inn began to be called “Manorial Inn”, it being in that year that prince Jiří Vilém Scahumburg-Lippe purchased it from Dominik Celba. In 1898 the composer Karel Kovařovic lived here, being inspired by the locality to write his opera "Na Starém bělidle" (On the Old Bleaching Ground).
Old Bleaching Ground
The Old Bleaching Ground (Staré bělidlo) is one of the best-known folk structures in the Czech Republic. The timber frame cottage with a shingle roof was built in 1797 by the miller Antonín Ruder as a home for his grandparents. In 1842 it was bought along with the mill by the then owner of the estate, Prince J.W. Schaumburg-Lippe, who had a one-storeyed building containing a laundry and a pressing room built-on on to it.In spite of the fact that Kateřina Zaháňská had the Old Bleaching Ground demolished in connection with the adaptations and enlargement of the park, it was just here that Božena Němcová situated the plot of her novel Babička.
Furnished according to the narration of the writer – with period furniture and small articles from the property of the Božena Němcová Museum at Česká Skalice.
Viktorka‘s Weir
The original wooden weir had been adjusted several times during the latter half of the 19th century in connection with the construction of a larger irrigation system for the Ratibořice meadow. The most recent reconstruction of the weir were carried out in the course of the regulation of the River Úpa in the 20s and 50s the 20th century.The route from Viktorka’s Weir to the so-called “Bílý most” (White Bridge) and “Červený most” (Red Bridge) continues through the landscape valley. Opening up beyond the bridges is a view of “Rýzmburský altán” (Rýzmburk Arbour), built above a steep slope in the ruins of a medieval castle of the same name at the end of the 18th century. It gained its present appearance in 1912.
Hunting Pavillion
Standing in the so-called Pheasantry, it was completed 1800 as an Empire building with a large hall in the façade and two adjoining wings. The façade is emphasized by two Doric columns bearing a wide, triangular gable. During the hunts which took place here the gentry were provided with refreshments in the pavilion, tea being served in the course of rides through the park (hence the name “Čajový Pavilion”).External links
- Ratibořice Château at Hrady-zamky.cz
- Surroundings of Nové Město nad Metují at English.novemestonm.cz