Nové Město nad Metují Chateau

Husovo náměstí 1201, 549 01 Nové Město nad Metují
+420 491 470 523 | pokladna@zameknm.cz

Opening hours & admission:
Opening hours and admission fees vary depending on the tour route. For the latest information, please visit the château’s official website.

Website

A National Cultural Monument located at the edge of the historic main square, the château is the town’s most visited attraction. Visitors can choose from two guided tours (Château Interiors and From the Attic to the Cellar) as well as the family-friendly programme Kouzelný zámek (“The Magic Château”).

The most recent major alterations, led by architects Dušan Jurkovič and Pavel Janák, took place in the first half of the 20th century. Thanks to this, visitors can glimpse an aristocratic residence as it changed against the backdrop of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the birth of Czechoslovakia. A guest room commemorates the visit of the first president of the independent state in 1926 and forms part of the first tour route.

From a Gothic fortress to a majestic château

The château is an unmistakable landmark of the town’s heritage conservation area. The town’s founder, Jan Černčický of Kácov, lived here in the early 16th century, when it was a late-Gothic castle. The Pernštejn family rebuilt it into a Renaissance château. The Stubenberg family continued with further changes, but extensive Baroque rebuilding came only after Walter of Leslie acquired the estate in the second half of the 1630s.

The château and its gardens took on their present appearance thanks to renovations carried out in 1909–1913 under architect Dušan Jurkovič, followed by later modifications by Pavel Janák in Art Deco and Functionalist styles. The monument—now a National Cultural Monument—was purchased at that time by the Bartoň family of Dobenín, who still own it today.

A garden with a fairytale bridge and gnomes

The château garden owes much of its current character to architect Dušan Jurkovič. An unattractive former yard behind the northern wing was transformed into a picturesque park with views over the valley. Terraces with flowerbeds and white railings were created, while another section became a French-style garden. Alongside the architectural changes, Jurkovič also designed a heated greenhouse and an irrigation system supplied with water from the River Metuje.

The two parts of the garden are linked by a covered wooden bridge from 1911, designed in the style of Wallachian folk architecture—another work by Dušan Jurkovič.

A fountain with a waterspout is a focal point of the lower garden, and the so-called Cabinet of Gnomes on the landing is impossible to miss. Together with other small statues placed near the main entrance to the château, these were created in the workshop of the Baroque sculptor Matyáš Bernard Braun in the first third of the 18th century. Their original home was the estate of the Baroque nobleman Count F. A. Sporck in Kuks. Legend has it that the figures are caricatures of people the count disliked. It was Dušan Jurkovič who came up with the idea of bringing them to enrich the château grounds in Nové Město nad Metují.

The garden is reminiscent of Italian Baroque gardens, yet it also clearly reflects the Art Nouveau spirit of its time—visible especially in Jurkovič’s original intentions for the geometry of the flowerbeds and planting. It is considered the last formally designed château garden of its kind in the Czech lands until the end of the 20th century.

Before Jurkovič’s revitalisation, the garden had fallen into disrepair. Historically, it was also much larger: it extended as far as today’s Českých legií Street and included an expensive orangery.

In the upper part of the garden, a defensive rampart lined with a linden avenue is accessible. A statue of St Wenceslas stands here, and a path leads on to the Zázvorka Tower, offering views over the Metuje river valley. On clear days you can also see the Sendraž lookout tower. President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk enjoyed this very view during his visit to Nové Město nad Metují in 1926.

Contact:

Zámek Nové Město nad Metují
Husovo náměstí 1201
549 01 Nové Město nad Metují

+420 491 470 523
pokladna@zameknm.cz
www.zameknm.cz

info@muzeumnm.cz
+420 491 472 119

Tourist Information Centre
Nové Město nad Metují
Husovo náměstí 1225
549 01 Nové Město nad Metují

+420 491 472 119
info@muzeumnm.cz
www.mestonaskale/informacni-centrum

Opening hours

Tourist season (May–September)
Mon–Sun: 9.00–17.00
Lunch break: 12.00–12.30

Off-season (October–April)
Mon–Fri: 9.00–16.00
Sat: 10.00–16.00
Sun: Closed
Lunch break: 12.00–12.30