Vrchlabi Palace

The palace, with an extensive park and a fishpond which nicely reflects it, is undoubtedly the town’s landmark. Building works were launched in 1546 by Krystof Gendorf of Gendorf. It was one of the first palaces in Bohemia built in the Renaissance style. The architect, whose name remains unknown, based his design on the layout of an Italian castello – a small stronghold or fort. The building was originally surrounded by a 12m wide moat and accessible by three bridges. It has undergone numerous changes over the more than 400 years of its existence, and is now the seat of the Municipal Council.

Today visitors can freely access the entrance hall where, besides inlaid doors, oil paintings of the last bears killed in the Krkonose (1665, 1693, 1701 and 1726) can be seen. The most valuable monument in the palace is the Renaissance faience stove, which with its size and decorations dominates the former Knights’ Hall, now a large conference hall, and is one of the first examples of the use of maiolica in Bohemia. The stove tiles with Biblical motifs bear the year 1545.