Kurovice
- Classification
- Castle
- Country
- Czechia
- Region
- Kroměříž
- Address
- Pod Lipkami 327, 686 01 Uherské Hradiště
The three-winged Gothic-Renaissance castle at Kurovice stands in the village of the same name, approximately 6 km south-west of Holešov in the Kroměříž district, and has been a listed monument since 1958. The castle is first mentioned in written sources in 1275. In 1423–1424 the castle was destroyed by the Hussites and was repeatedly damaged during the Bohemian-Hungarian wars. A radical rebuilding of the castle into a representative three-winged residence in the late Gothic style took place in 1499, when it was owned by the brothers Vilém and Kuneš of Vrchlabí. In 1565 Jáchym Zoubek of Zdětín acquired Kurovice and attempted to rebuild the castle as a Renaissance chateau. The castle was enclosed by a double fortification with four bastions, through which access bridges and a gatehouse tower led. These bridges, together with the two moats they crossed, were still preserved in the mid-18th century. It was probably only Jáchym's son Jan Bohuslav who around 1580 had a Renaissance loggia built on the upper floor. After the Battle of the White Mountain, Kurovice fell to Prince Václav F. Eusebius of Lobkowicz. The addition of a third floor took place under Zoubek of Zdětín and was rebuilt under Ladislav the Younger of Lobkowicz around 1637. This storey was used in recent centuries as a granary. In the 17th century a brewery stood nearby. After 1945 the castle was used by the agricultural cooperative and until 1988 served as offices, a granary, and a residential building. Subsequently the Kroměříž Regional Museum took over the building and commenced its reconstruction. The events of 1989 soon interrupted this, however, and in 2006 the castle passed from the ownership of the Zlín Region (the founding body of the Kroměříž Regional Museum) into private hands. The current owner of the Kurovice castle is Ing. Martin Malina. The castle, which to this day has retained its ancient appearance despite all its alterations, ranks from an architectural standpoint among the most significant seats of the lesser nobility in Moravia. The building, which is undergoing reconstruction, is accessible during events held there and by prior arrangement.
Jiri.bures (CC BY 3.0) · CC BY 3.0