Castle hill returned to life

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Regular visitors to the festival have certainly watched with excitement the construction work that has been taking place on the Castle Hill, the venue of the International Opera Festival Smetana Litomyšl over the past four years. Even this year, many will notice that not everything is completely finished yet, yet the great project of revitalization of the Castle Hill is nearing its successful conclusion during June this year. Already the year before last, festival visitors were able to see Václav Boštík's exhibition in the new hall in the Chateau Riding Hall, where regular overtures to the evening festival programmes have also been held since last year. Since last year, visitors have also been able to use the new social halls in the Castle Brewery, the cafeteria in the former coach house and visit the beautiful Piarist Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross. In June this year, the extension to the Piarist College is also being completed and the Angels on the Hill and the Children's Programme exhibitions are gradually being brought to life. Even during the busy festival season, this year visitors will also be able to encounter groups of children exploring the Castle Hill and its history. Since last year, the newly revitalised premises have been the venue for the School at the Castle project. Over 1,200 enthusiastic children have already visited the experiential educational programmes of the School at the Chateau and the interest is constantly growing. As the project draws to a close, it is time to take stock and summarise what the project has brought.

The project Revitalisation of the castle hill was financed by the Integrated Operational Programme, whose purpose and aim is, among other things, the restoration of monuments, including their revitalisation and return to the life of society. Between 2011 and 2015, a total of over CZK 400 million was invested. Four renowned Czech architectural offices participated in the project - AP Atelier Josef Pleskot (the forecourt, the Castle Brewery), Atelier HŠH (the riding hall, upper courtyard, stables, carriage house and the castle park), Marek Štěpán (the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross), Atelier Burian - Křivinka (Piarist College + extension). The project includes not only the reconstruction of eleven historical buildings, but also cultural and educational programmes such as the School at the Chateau, the Children's Programme and the Angels on the Hill exhibition. The main objective of the project is therefore to fully integrate the valuable site into the organism of the city and the region and to use it as a supra-regional centre of culture, education and social life.

Piarist College with an extension
The building of the former Piarist college was built in 1643 as part of the Piarist monastery building complex. The dormitory was completely reconstructed as part of the project and today it houses 4 studios of the Faculty of Restoration of the University of Pardubice.

The Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross
The Baroque Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross was built between 1714 and 1725. It burned down four times in its history and after 1968 it was closed and gradually fell into disrepair. Within the framework of the project, the church was literally brought back to life. The church has a new exhibition Angels on the Hill and a beautiful view of the city. Today, the church is not only a spiritual place of contemplation, but also an exhibition of religious art and a cultural hall at the same time.

The chateau brewery
The construction of the brewery was completed in 1630. It acquired its Baroque appearance around 1730. The building was gradually renovated in two stages in 2000-2006 and 2011-2013. Today, the building is once again in full use. It houses a training centre, offices, depositories, classrooms, as well as accommodation, social halls and the Bedřich Smetana Birthplace exhibition.

The riding hall
The former brewery building is connected to the riding hall from the first third of the 18th century. As part of the reconstruction, a multifunctional cultural hall with a capacity of up to 400 visitors was built into the former riding hall.

Carriage House and Children's Pavilion
The carriage house was originally a ground floor building and served as a space where carriages were placed. In 1977 it was renovated and raised by one floor. As part of the modern renovation, a new cafeteria was built on the ground floor and a Children's Pavilion with interactive elements was built in the area in front of the carriage house.

Stables The stable building, built around 1725, is the landmark of the so-called Upper Courtyard. A labyrinth has been built into a previously unused part of the building and is part of the extensive Children's Programme on the Castle Hill.

The Castle Gardens
The current form of the park surrounding the castle on three sides dates back to the end of the 18th century. At that time, the Wallenstein-Wartembergs transformed the south-western part of the castle facing the town into a French garden. The lower part of the garden in the northern part of the grounds was designed as an English park. The park was completely renovated as part of the project, removing the 1950s amphitheatre and adding several modern features.

Forecourt
The area around the central road, Jirásek Street, with a small park around the statue of Alois Jirásek, is now referred to as the forecourt. Jirásek Street flows into the central space, which is dominated by the facade of the former chateau brewery. Thanks to paving and the restoration of greenery, a new square has been created here.

Children's programmeThe basic idea of this programme is to connect the individual buildings on the Castle Hill (the Stables, the Children's Pavilion, the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross, the Museum and the Castle) and their history through a unified line of interactive stops that will introduce the historical context to children in an entertaining way.

Angels on the hill
Through attractive visual means, the exhibition provides a space for visitors to encounter works of art from Czech Christian culture of the Baroque period. The artworks come from the parishes of the Hradec Králové Diocese and most of them are exhibited for the very first time. The exhibition also includes an entrance to the lookout between the towers on the facade of the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross.

School at the castle
The School at the Chateau is a unique project combining experiential pedagogy and the genius loci of the Chateau Hill locality in Litomyšl. It exploits the potential of the link to the period realities, cultural heritage monuments and important personalities who stayed in the town. The current offer includes mainly two-hour programmes for primary and secondary schools focusing on music, visual arts, architecture and history.

Explore the revitalized Castle Hill - take the From Sandstone to Laminate Architectural Tour

We'll take you on a tour of Castle Hill, where new architecture and historic architecture have been entering into a harmonious dialogue for many years. The tour focuses on the historical buildings of the Chateau Hill in Litomyšl reconstructed within the framework of the project Revitalisation of the Chateau Hill, which is funded by the Integrated Operational Programme. The main theme of these special tours is the relationship between contemporary architecture and historical buildings. It presents individual buildings in their historical context and at the same time introduces the architectural concepts of their restoration.

Join us on a tour of this unique historic site and see it with a whole new set of eyes.

The tour lasts about 90 minutes and starts at the Piarist Church. It can be booked by calling 727 878 444.

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CONSENT TO THE PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA FOR MARKETING PURPOSES The data subject grants the organisation Zámecké návrší p. o., with registered office at Jiráskova 133, Litomyšl Postal Code 570 01, ID No.: 712 94 058, registered with the Regional Court in Hradec Králové, file number Pr 1251, email contact: info@zamecke-navrsi.cz (hereinafter referred to as the "Controller"), consent to the processing of his/her personal data under the conditions set out below: 1. Personal data and sensitive personal data to be processed: - Title, name and surname, email address, telephone contact. 2: - Sending selected commercial communications offering the services of the controller by all means, including the use of electronic means of communication within the meaning of Act No. 480/2004 Coll., on certain information society services (as amended); - sending invitations to professional seminars, training courses, trade fairs or public events, - sending non-addressed commercial communications, - conducting market research and evaluation, - inclusion in a marketing database for profiling and direct marketing, - conducting segmentation (profiling) to target marketing according to the specific needs of the subject, for example, selecting commercial communications with regard to participation in the activities of the controller, identified preferences, age and other information identified from the subject. Said consent is given voluntarily by the data subject and with the knowledge that he/she may withdraw the consent to the processing of personal data at any time, either in writing or via the website of Zámecký návrší p. o. (Subscription to the above information can be revoked at any time by clicking on the relevant link in the footer of the message or by sending a request to info@zamecke-navrsi.cz). 3. The period of processing of personal data is 2 years from the date of consent or until your consent is withdrawn. Commercial communications by electronic means are only sent unless you refuse them. Personal data cannot be disclosed to the following third parties. The controller is only entitled to use the personal data in accordance with the above-mentioned purpose. Furthermore, the aforementioned Controller is only entitled to disclose personal data to entities cooperating with the Controller to achieve the primary purpose for which this consent is granted. With such entities, the Controller undertakes to enter into a contract containing the same terms and conditions for the processing of my personal data. The processing will be carried out in accordance with the relevant legal norms on the protection of personal data, in particular Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) and the Adaptation Act, Act No. 110/2019 Coll., on the processing of personal data, as amended. The data subject declares that he/she has been duly instructed by the Controller on the processing and protection of personal data, that the above personal data is accurate and true and is provided to the Controller voluntarily. The Data Subject further declares that he/she is aware of all his/her rights under the GDPR: - to be informed, upon request, of what personal data concerning him or her is processed by Zámecké návrší p.o., for what purpose, the nature of any automated processing and the recipients of the data (Article 15 GDPR); - ¬ in the event that the data subject becomes aware or believes that Zámecké návrší p.o. carries out processing of personal data which conflicts with the protection of his or her private and personal life or infringes the GDPR, in particular if the personal data are inaccurate with regard to the purpose of the processing, to request Zámecké návrší p. o. for an explanation and/or to request the rectification of the situation thus created, in particular, it may be a rectification (Article 16 GDPR) or erasure (Article 17 GDPR), or restriction of the processing of personal data (Article 18 GDPR), or to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority, which is the Office for Personal Data Protection; - in the event that the data subject wishes to transfer his/her data to another controller, obtain from Zámecký návrší p.o. personal data whose processing is carried out by automated means and transfer them to another data controller (Article 20 GDPR); - object to the processing of personal data for direct marketing purposes; if he/she objects, the data will no longer be processed for these purposes (Article 21 GDPR). The data subject is aware that providing consent to the processing of the Data for the purposes set out in point 2 of this document is voluntary and is not a condition for entering into a contractual relationship with Zámecké návrší p.o. The Data Subject may also contact the Data Protection Officer of Zámecký návrší p. o. Ing. Klára Hudečková, either electronically to poverenec@litomysl.cz or in writing to the address.