Veveří Castle

So, there's more than one castle in Brno. Despite my assertion that I live in a small town, Brno is the second largest city in all of the Czech Republic. As such, it not only has Spielberk Castle, in the center of town, and the ruin of Obřany castle, out near where we live, but also the Veveří castle located on the banks of the Brno Dam lake.

The weather across Europe this summer has been unseasonably cold and wet. As you may recall from our Irish adventures, long sleeves and fleeces have been the order of the day. We were planning to spend a good week hanging out at home with the children's school pals, and had dreams of pools, rivers, lakes. You know, the sorts of things that involve bathing suite, icy drinks and sunscreen.

'Twas not to be. Putting on our thinking caps, the mums came up with Plan B: let's take 'em to the castle!

The response on the part of the children was about expected: "Castle? RUN!"

Herding cats. One of the key benefits of Veveří castle, thought, is that one can take a boat there. Given that transportation can also be entertainment to the under ten set, we tried again, positioning our outing as a "BOAT RIDE, with castle." While this did not raise their enthusiasm levels significantly, we were able to get all of the children onto the boat. I consider that a win.

We had all packed lunches, with the idea that we could picnic at the castle. Sounds romantic, although given the weather, it would have been something less than that. Luckily, the boats are rather well appointed, and this being a weekday, with something less than optimal weather, we decided a picnic aboard the boat would be a far better option. Which, indeed, it was. And indoor picnic, in someone else's indoor.

I spent most of the 50 minute ride shivering indoors, but I had heard that the boat rounds a "corner" of the lake, and the first sighting of the castle is kind of spectacular, so I poked my head out a few times just to see where we were.

Hope declared she was the Queen of the World, which I find fascinating, as I assure you the child has never set eyes on "Titanic."

And there it is: Veveří castle! It is rather beautiful.

The castle was originally built in the 1200s, although what you see today isn't what was built in the 1200s. The castle has a rather unromantic history: it was used primarily for defense until around the end of the 1500s, where it reverted to private hands and had a longish sort of history being passed sold every hundred years or so. Around the late 1800s it was purchased by an English noble man. During this period, Winston Churchill, apparently on his honeymoon, dropped by.

There you have it. Visited by the most significant European politician of the 20th century. I wonder who paid for this plaque? And when?

I believe this is the Eastern Prismatic Tower, built on the remnants of walls from the 13th century. 

The modern history of the castle is one that would suggest we were actually pretty lucky to get to see it at all. The Germans set up barracks here during WWII, doing extensive damage to the structure. It was open to the public at the end of the war, but for decades, sat without renovation. It was allowed to deteriorate until the late 1990s when it was under finally put under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture and joined the portfolio of historic buildings managed by the National Heritage Institute in Brno.

The restorations are slow, and will take many years, but the structures have all been stabilized and some work has been completed on the interiors.

And with that, the sun came out and we headed for home.

Another day, another castle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Tatjana Farkin]

Our first trip outside Brno last summer was to Veveri Castle, but we walked up from the street! Uff. It was hot.

[Monica]

What a colorful bunch! Way to go, Queen of the World!