Name of Monument:

Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou Chateau

Also known as:

Jarmeritz

Location:

Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou, Moravia, Czech Republic

Date:

1670–1680; 1698; 1700–1737; 1853–1856

Artists:

Jacob Prandtauer (1660 Stanz – 1726 St. Pölten), Johann Friedrich Praetorius, Domenico d´Angeli, Johann Lucas Hildebrandt (1668 Genoa – 1745 Vienna), Josef Emanuel Fischer von Erlach (1656– 1742 Vienna?), Konrad Mathias Albrecht, Nicolas Milich (active, 1627–1736), Joseph Munggenast (1680–1741) Giovanni Michele Fontana, Giuseppe Camone, Tobias Gravani, Johann Gottfried Auerbach (1679 Mühlhausen – 1743 Vienna), Johann Baptist Glunck, Domenico Maria Francia, Alessandro Ferretti, Giovanni Battista Pellizuoli, František Antonín Findt, Frans Stampart (1675 Antwerp – 1750 Vienna), Martin Meytens (1695 Stockholm – 1770 Vienna), Karel František Tepper (1682–1738), Kaspar Ober, Johann Wenzl Bergl (1718 Hradec Králové – 1789 Vienna)

Denomination / Type of monument:

Secular – aristocratic residence – country chateau

Patron(s):

Jan Adam Questenberk (1678–1752), Counts Kounic-Rietberg (until 1848)

History:

After university, Count Questenberk travelled around western Europe. He planned to model his residence on Versailles and demonstrate his interest in the arts, especially music. The Baroque reconstruction of a Renaissance chateau was devised by the distinguished Austrian architect, J. Prandtauer. The design included a garden landscaped in the French style. In the 18th century the chateau functioned as a centre of high culture: there was a large library, a gallery, a theatre and a musical ensemble in which local people performed. The ensemble was led by the composer František Václav Míča, who wrote The Establishment of the Town of Jaromerice in 1730, the first Czech opera. The chateau has been the property of the state since 1945. It houses an important collection of paintings by 17th-century Italian and Dutch artists, partially gathered from neighbouring chateaux (Luka nad Jihlavou and Budíškovice).

Description:

The two-storey building consists of a three-wing central section adjoined, in the direction of the town square, by a pair of double-wings finished with quadrilateral pavilions that close a ceremonial courtyard. The former theatre is on the east side. The stage design for the theatre was created by, among others, the famous Galli da Bibiena family of artists from Bologna who were active in Vienna. Ledges over the windows feature relief busts by K. Ober. The architectural segmentation on the sides is illusionary paintwork. The terrace is adjoined by a French parterre ending in a regulated stream coming off the River Rokytná. The chateau, dominating the town, is separated from an adjacent square by a moat with a vaulted bridge.

View Short Description

This Baroque residential complex, closely linked with the town, was a major centre for Baroque culture in Moravia. The chateau theatre was particularly renowned, with local people featuring in musical performances. The first Czech opera was held in the chateau in 1730. With its rooms arranged on two floors, the chateau is one of the largest in Central Europe. The Baroque reconstruction was devised by the distinguished Austrian architect, J. Prandtauer. The design included a garden landscaped in the French style. In the 1720s and 30s a number of Viennese-Italian artists worked on the chateau.

How Monument was dated:

The design for the construction of the chateau was altered several times, obscuring its authorship. The main source of information is the count’s correspondence and other archive material, combined with style analyses. The ceiling painting in the church is signed and dated.

Special features

Staircase

Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou Chateau

1731

Giuseppe Camone, Domenico Maria Francia

A two-shouldered staircase with stucco decoration is overlooked by a ceiling painting of The Fall of the Titans. A number of Italian artists who had settled in Vienna worked for Count Questenberk in the 1720s and 30s.

Hall of the Ancestors

Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou Chateau

1728

Josef Emanuel Fischer von Erlach (1656–1742 Vienna?), Tobias Gravani, Johann Gotfried Auerbach, Johann Baptist Glunck, Martin Meytens (1695 Stockholm – 1770 Vienna), Domenico Maria Francia, Alessandro Ferretti

The wainscoting, a copy of the imperial office in Vienna, features family portraits by leading Viennese portraitists including J. Kupecký. The vaulting is decorated with the painting The Celebration of Jaroměřice, framed by illusionary architecture.

Sala Terrena

Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou Chateau

1714

Giovanni Michele Fontana, Johann Wenzl Bergl?

The space is decorated with illusionary ornamental painting evoking an overgrown pergola. The adjoining lounge contains Japanese genre scenes and “Roman” baths with stucco ornamentation decorated with shells and stones.

Count’s Study

Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou Chateau

1729–1737

Jacob Prandtauer (1660 Stanz – 1726 St. Pölten), Johann Friedrich Praetorius

The “Chinese” room was adjoined by a library. The floor, inlaid with several kinds of wood, was by the court joiner. The count consulted with the Viennese adviser, Conrad Adolph von Albrecht, who also worked for the Sinzendorfs in Židlochovice in most of his artistic activities.

Church of St. Margaret

Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou Chateau

1716–1782

Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt (1668 Genoa – 1745 Vienna), František Antonín Findt, Karel František Tepper (1682–1738), Kaspar Ober

The church, with an oval nave, presbytery and vestibule, is 20.2 m long, 14.8 m wide and 44 m high. Its fresco decoration is the apotheosis of St. Margaret. She is accompanied by two angels, crypto-portraits of the investor and his wife, Marie Antonie of Friedberg–Scheer. The nave contains six side altars. The two front altars feature reliquaries of two young martyrs, Saints Vincent and Reparata, presented by Pope Innocent XII to the count during his journey to Rome. The church joined the chateau and the area below it. The concept is not only of architectural importance but also manifests the connection between the sovereign and the people, considered an aspect of “beneficent reign”.

Selected bibliography:

Ivo Krsek –­­ Zdeněk Kudělka (ed) –­­ Miloš Stehlík –­­ Josef Válka, Umění baroka na Moravě a ve Slezsku, Prague, 1996, pp. 247–250, 633.
Miroslav Plaček, Hrady a zámky na Moravě a ve Slezsku, Prague, 1999, pp. 181–183.
Bohumil Samek, Umělecké památky Moravy a Slezska II, J–N, Prague, 1999, pp. 25–27.
Jiří Kroupa (ed), Dans le miroir des ombres. La Moravie a la age baroque 1670–­­1790, Paris–­­Rennes–­­Brno, 2002, pp. 28, 29, 59, 130, 140–141, cat. 30, 258.
Rostislav Smíšek, Jan Adam z Questenberka a hmotná kultura v zámku v Jaroměřicích nad Rokytnou. Příspěvek ke šlechtické reprezentaci v první polovině 18. století, Západní Morava 9, 2005, pp. 50–70.

Citation of this web page:

Zora Wörgötter "Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou Chateau" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;BAR;cz;Mon11_D;32;en

Prepared by: Zora Wörgötter
Copyedited by: Jiří Kroupa
Translation by: Irma Charvátová
Translation copyedited by: Mandi Gomez


MWNF Working Number: CZ 32