Pardubice

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Státní zámek Pardubice, 531 16 Pardubice
Tel. +420 466 799 240


   The Pardubice manor stands on the site of the original country house which was built most probably at the end of the 13th century. In the following century it changed into a water castle. When the manor belonged to William from Pernštejn (+1521) it was reconstructed and the eastern wing was added. William's sons went on in these additions and adaptations but in the early Renaissance style. Between 1574 - 1579 the architect Ulrico Aostalli built a large representation hall on the second floor of the northern wing, decorated the facade of the manor with sgraffiti and built Renaissance gables. Even though the site of the manor was built as a fortress in the beginning of the 16th century, it also proved its defensive qualities during the Thirty Years War when it was vainly besieged several times.
   The Pardubice manor is a rare example of the transition between castle and manor. There is no such other site in this country with a late Gothic fortification system. Large fragments of the early Renaissance painting decoration have been preserved in the three knight halls of the southern wing. The scene from the Old Testament story of Samson and Dalila in the Vojtěch Hall dates back to 1532 and represents the oldest known Renaissance wall painting on the territory of Bohemia. The manor serves as a museum and a picture gallery and it is, of course, open to the public. Next to one of the corners of the site of the manor is the historic center of the city which is also noteworthy.