zámek Kuks Chateau

The chateau Kuks was established as part of an ambitious spa project, which was launched in 1692 by the owner of the Hradiště Choustnikov, Count František Antonín Špork. The spa was put into operation in 1695 to grow over time in a rich area involving several buildings. Originally a wooden spa building was converted into a stone chateau in 1710. In the neighbourhood of the genia Šporkov building activity there were other buildings - in 1702 a wooden theatre next to the inn U Zlatý sun and later in 1722 the house of philosophers with a library on the right bank Elbe. The highlight of Sporko's efforts became hospitalized for military retired with the Church of the Holy Trinity, which was built between 1707 and 1717. The whole complex underwent intensive reconstruction and modifications until 1719.

After the death of František Antonín Špork in 1738, Kuks began to fall irreversibly. The disaster flood in 1740 affected part of the spa, followed by other natural disasters and war hardships. The breeding troops and the beginning of the degradation of the site gradually turned it into a ruin. Sporka's son-in-law Franz Karel Rudolf Swéerts- Sporck focused his efforts on agriculture, and his descendants were no longer interested in the spa. The time of the chateau was running out. Although it was repaired in 1821, it was no longer inhabited. During the nineteenth century he continued to disintegrate, being hit by a fire in 1896 and eventually his ruins were demolished in 1901.

The architecture of the chateau reflected purpose and time. The building had two floors and a rectangular plan. The southern facade with riskalil, divided pilasters and a closed triangular shield gave construction seriousness and rhythmic elegance. The entrance led from the bridge to the Elbe, which connected the lock to the hospital on the other side, and then walked up the stairs. The entrance facade was protected by an arcade portico, supported by five-part arcades and highlighted by a pilastrous order of laying and balustrad. On the ground floor there were functional rooms designed for spa operation - a large spa hall and a dozen bathrooms. The first floor was designed for representation and joy: a huge hall decorated with stucco and frescoes has prepared a room for social life. The second floor belonged to the family's privacy.

An interesting part of the chateau was the symbolism that Spork wprowadil had. From the prince's bedroom and from the chateau arcades, the motto "Memento mori" was in the spirit - remember death - it is possible to see the eternal light burning in the family tomb located in the crypt under the church at the hospice on the opposite shore at every dark time. In this way, everyday life associated the world of the living with the memory of the predecessor.

Today, the chateau no longer exists, but its spirit survives in the legacy of Šporkov's work - in the church, hospital and memory he left in the landscape of Kuks and in the history of the Czech Baroque.