HolíCˇ Castle - O projekte · day’s Holíč which belonged to the Valy-Mikulčice ... success, he was now a ... the castle. In 1970, the castle was declared a National Cultural

The project is financed from grants from Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism and from the state budget of the Slovak Republic.Total authorized expenditure for the project: EUR 752 978.-

„Save the heritage of our anceStorS“

HolíC Castle

PROTECT OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

ANd ITS HISTORy

www.eeagrants.sk

Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine

3O W N E R S O F H O L Í Č C A S T L E

OwNERS OF HOLíč CASTLEThe territory around Holíč provided suitable con-ditions for settlement even in prehistoric times. During the period of the Great Moravian Em-pire settlements were found in the vicinity of to-day’s Holíč which belonged to the Valy-Mikulčice hill fort. The first written mentions of Holíč date from the 13th century, when Holíč was known as Wywar, which means New Castle. This could in-dicate that another castle, which was even older, was then located on this site. The first likely known owner could be Komes Kemyn, to whom King An-drew II of Hungary gifted the land of the Holíč es-tate. From the 13th century on Holíč was shaken by Tatar incursions and Czech-Hungarian conflicts. In this period, the castle was owned by Kemyn’s son Vavrinec and ultimately in 1291 by Abrahám Rú-fus, who was unable to protect the castle against the forces of Matthew III Csák of Trenčín. The castle served Matthew Csák as a suitable strategic point for battles with Czech King, John of Bohemia. After 1332, the town and castle were in the ownership of Kings of the House of Anjou. In 1392, King Sigis-

mund of Luxemburg gifted Holíč during his reign to Stibor of Stiboricz. After the death of Stibor II his properties passed back into the hands of the monarch. In 1434, the monarch gifted Holíč to Gašpar Schlick, who ceded it to the Nitra župan, or county administrator in 1444. By a document from 18 May1489, King Matthias Corvinus deposited the estate to the line of Imrich and Martin Cobor, who planned to sell it as soon as possible. At the same time, they requested reimburse-ment of the money which they had expended on repair of the castle. In 1493, Vladislaus II of Bo-hemia and Hungary did not acknowledge the entire deposited sum and instead of payment of 1635 gulden he made the Cobors the owners of Holíč. Imrich’s son Gašpar Cobor was not a very good estate manager, however. He ran up great debts on his estate and in consequence, after his death, the Bakič, Révai and Schlick families and descendents of Martin Cobor all made claims to the estate. For much of the 16th century the castle was the subject of these legal disputes. In 1554, the property and spaces of the castle were divided by a royal commission among the Cobor, Bakič and Révai families. Over the course of several decades, by exchange, purchase and family ties, the Cobor family gained exclusive ownership rights to the estate.

The last owner from the Cobor family was Jozef Cobor, who fell deeply into debt and in 1736 sold the castle and the estate to Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine. Affairs in Holíč were likely to be at least partially known to Francis from the title of his function of Lord Lieutenant of Hungary, with its seat in Pressburg (today’s Bratislava). However, several determining factors led him to a defin-itive inclination toward the choice of this estate. First, the indebtedness of Jozef Cobor and his growing insolvency financially discounted the price of the property. Further aspects of chosing

Matthew III Csák of Trenčín

4 H O L Í Č C A S T L E A N d i T S H i S T O R y

this estate were the strategic position of the site on the borders of three countries, the short distance from Vienna, the quality soil with high productivity and, last but not least, the growing number of residents in the re-gion. The selling off of the estate in several stages became certain negative aspect of the deal. In order for the Holy Roman Emper-or to take the property fully under his own administration he had to purchase several villages from creditors, through which the court compensated the unpaid deposits. The definitive sale came on 30 January 1749, when Jozef Cobor signed the declaration that he is giving up the property. Alongside the account of Cobor’s property, he also de-scribes his fate, moaning about his hopeless position and the capricious fate which has overcome him. Once at the peak of social success, he was now a castaway who had no place to lay his head, chased by the creditors of his predecessors and living on less than dignified resources. Several incidents ex-ist regarding the fecklessness of Jozef Cobor. According to Hungarian genealogist Ivan Nagy, Jozef Cobor once made a bet with a certain Hungarian noble on who would come to a dinner in more expensive clothing. Cobor’s adversary had a gold-embroidered suit made, which was worth 10 thousand guldens. Jozef appeared at the gathering in common clothing, and to all

those present, it seemed that he had lost the bet – up to the moment he took off his jacket. Its lining was sewn from cloth made by an old Italian master and had a worth of the entire estate. He thus won the bet of 500 guldens, sometimes said to be 1000 guldens, but his debts grew anyway. Other reports state that the nobleman who made the bet with Jozef Cobor was the nobleman Silva - Tarouca. The author of the cloth was probably Correggio.

Testimony to the importance which the Emperor ascribed to both estates lies in the fact that he mentioned them in his testament from 1751 and did not consider adding properties to the will which he acquired after this year. After the death of Francis Stephen, the Holíč estate and castle gradually lost the character of a place regularly visited by the monarch. The owners of the castle, the Habsburgs, visited it only sporadically. In the 19th century, the castle served during most of the year for the needs of an officer’s riding school. Individual riding regiments always sent

Jozef Cobor

30 January 1749 Jozef Cobor renounced the Holíč and Šaštín estates in Vienna

5F R A N C i S S T E P H E N , d U K E O F L O R R A i N E

one or two young officers to Holíč in the autumn. Officers from foreign armies also completed riding exercises at the school. The castle welcomed the monarch, for example, in 1805 after the Battle of Austerlitz, when the Russian army withdrew to Holíč. The Emperor of Austria, Francis I (also known as Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor), stayed at the castle together with Russian Tsar Alexander I, while General Michail Kutuzov was accommodated in the premises of the factory for the production of faience. The main points of the so-called Peace of Pressburg were agreed on in the castle. In June 1839, Emperor Ferdinand V came to Holíč together with his wife. They set off on the journey on 16 June from Bratislava, and during their journey they visited Malacky and Stupava at the invitation of Count Pálffy. In Holíč, they were greeted by representatives of the estate and a most varied deputation. During the reign of Francis Joseph I the Holíč estate completely lost its lustre. For the monarch only the economic benefit arising from the estate was crucial. In 1902, the Emperor used the estate as a centre for large military manoeuvres.

The Habsburg – Lorraine dynasty owned the castle up to year 1921, when it fell into the owner-ship of the first Czechoslovak Republic. During that period an elementary school was housed in the castle. In 1970, the castle was declared a National Cultural Landmark.

FRANCIS STEPHEN, dUkE OF LORRAINE

Francis Stephen was born on 8 December 1708 in the city of Nancy in Lorraine, which is today a part of France, as a child of Leop-old Joseph Charles, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife Élisabeth Charlotte of d’Orléans. Francis Stephen belonged to the youngest branch of the Lorraine duchy, from the Vaudémont line, which had governed the duchy since 1509; he was also its final member.

The year 1723 was an exceptionally tragic time in the family of the Lorraine duchy. On 4 June the older brother of Francis, Leopold Clement, died of smallpox. Thus, the sec-ond-born Francis Stephen took on the role of hereditary prince. Emperor Charles VI, in Bratislava, named Francis the Lord Lieu-tenant of Hungary with his seat at Bratislava Castle in 1732.

On 30 January 1736, Francis Stephen officially asked permission to marry Maria Theresa. The wedding took place on 12 February 1736 in the Augustinian Church in Vienna. Papal Nuncio Domenico Passionei celebrated the wedding service. After the wedding the Emperor entrusted his son-in-law with the function of General Governor of the Austrian Netherlands, though he never actually took over the office in practice.



7F R A N C i S S T E P H E N , d U K E O F L O R R A i N E

At the turn of 1737 and 1738, Francis Stephen became the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Army. The Treaty of Vienna from 1735 awarded Tuscany to Francis Stephen. This was to be com-pensation for Lorraine, which he had to give up before his wedding with Maria Theresa. France wanted to attach Lorraine to its own territory. Francis could take hold of the country only after the death of the last male member of the Medici line. The young newlyweds didn’t have to wait long for their Italian inheritance. The last Grand Duke of Tuscany Giovanni Gastone de’ Medici died on 9 July 1737. Three days later an Emperor’s decree was published in the country, by which the nation of the Duchy of Lorraine took over governance of Tuscany. The young newlyweds left for Tuscany in 1739 and settled into the Pitti Palace in Florence. The unexpected death of Emper-or Charles VI interrupted the pair’s short stay in the new country. Maria Theresa, together with her husband, was forced to return to Vienna, where she was to take charge of the government. In 1740, she named her husband as co-regent of the Austrian part of the monarchy. From the function of co-regent he was authorised to share in decisions in questions of governing. Maria Theresa never took his services and opinions into consideration. But the opposite situation oc-curred in the financial area, where she not only accepted his advice, but even requested his help.

Still during the life of Charles VI Austrian diplomacy made an effort through bribes and coercion to secure the accession of Francis Stephen to the position of Emperor. The coronation was held on the patron day of the future Emperor, St. Francis, falling on 4 October 1745, in Frankfurt.

Francis Stephen of Lorraine died on 18 August1765 in Innsbruck at the age of 57 years after a theatrical performance which was held in honour of the wedding of his son Leopold.

Francis Stephen was the first member of the line who had private property available. In the course of his life he was able to amass a huge amount of property through successful business activities. At the time of his death this was around 18 million guldens. Aside from his own trea-sury, there were the various estates and private property of his wife, which he managed to mul-tiply. A sum of approximately 5,861,729 guldens formed the basis of the so-called family trea-sury, later the family prudential fund. In addition to business, numismatics and natural sciences, opera and theatrical plays were favourite pastimes of Francis. He was also able to play the violin. The all-around personality of the Emperor was also shown in the literary field. In the course of his life he wrote an essay with the name “Instructions for My Children for Their Spiritual and Earthly Life” from 1752 and the tract “A Hermit in the World”. In the works he develops the idea of asceticism, clarifies his positions toward the church and advises and instructs his children. After his death, each of the children got a list of lessons which the Emperor had written himself. The Emperor excelled in botany, numismatics and the natural sciences. His artistic hobbies were not only limited to literary and musical activities; Francis also had creative talents. Despite member-ship in the Society of Free Masons, the Emperor’s strong relationship to the Catholic faith and commitment to the country are expressed in his motto Pro deo et imperio – For God and Empire.



CONSTRUCTION dEvELOPmENT OF THE CASTLE

The oldest predecessor of Holíč Castle originated on a strategically important site on the Mora-via–Hungary border sometime in the 12th century as a border fortress guarding the western border of the Kingdom of Hungary. It was built on the site of an island running to the flood plain of the Morava River, which formed a component of its defences. The building was enclosed by earthen bulwark with palisade defences. It has not been determined whether a residential building or residential tower, or donjon, was located near the object. In the 13th century, the wooden palisade was replaced by a rampart built of broken stone. A walled stone tower was added to the wooden buildings at the castle. Another construction stage of the castle is linked to the 14th century. In this period the war damage caused during battles between Matthew III Csák of Trenčín and Czech King John of Bohemia was repaired. A second reason for reconstruc-tion was modernization of the defence system of the castle, which was no longer suitable for the new offensive military technology and trends in defence. On the site of today’s south wing of the castle an independently standing two-storey palace was built, which had a rectangular floor plan with dimensions of 49 m x 11.5 m. The building had a triple-spaced layout. In the 15th century the castle underwent an extensive late-Gothic reconstruction. During this reconstruc-tion an early Gothic fortification and a walled tower built in the 13th century were demolished. A vertically built two-storey wing, which is situated on the site of today’s west wing of the castle, was added to the south palace from the 14th century. The new palace wing, similarly as the forti-fications, was built on thick, wooden pilotings. Communication corridors probably led through a wooden courtyard gallery which was located on stone consoles. We can date the fifth building stage of the building reconstruction to between the end of the 15th and the first half of the 16th century, when the medieval castle was gradually rebuilt into a Renaissance fortress. Two other two-storey wings were added to the two wings of the medieval palace, namely on the eastern and northern sides. The building acquired a four-wing layout with a central courtyard. From a document passed down from year 1554 we can find out the interior layout and division of the building. In the west wing on the ground floor were food storerooms and residential rooms. Upstairs were rooms with antechambers and a bath. Residential rooms and chambers were like-wise found in the south wing.

The second half of the 17th century probably saw the construction of the bastion fortifications, which are still found around the castle today. Thus far, no written source which tells the exact date of construction of the object or no more detailed information regarding its construction has been found. The construction of the bastion fortifications is likely associated with the de-cision of the Court Military Council on the intensive reinforcing of the anti-Turkish defence of Hungary after 1663. In this year the town of Nové Zámky fell into the hands of the Turks. During research on the terrace of the main building a stamped brick was found with the year 1678 on it, which may indicate the probable year of construction of the fortification. One of the larg-est and most significant stages of reconstruction of the building took place in the period from 1749 to the 1760s. The fortified castle was converted into a splendid palace with a park that became a favourite seasonal seat of the imperial family. We still do not know with certainty the author of the reconstruction. From two sources we know the names of the natives coming from

9C O N S T R U C T i O N d E V E L O P M E N T O F T H E C A S T L E

the Emperor’s Lorraine household. Viennese court builder Jean Nicolas Jadot de Ville, painter and architect Jean Joseph Chamant, as well as the head of the Bratislava construction chamber Franz Anton Hillebrandt all come to mind. He worked in Holíč in the years 1771 – 1773. Building modifications running in the 1740s were with the greatest probability carried out by builder Andreas Winthalm. In some sources we come across a different variant of his surname, namely Winthaler. Radoslav Ragač dates the start of the reconstruction to the period after the end of war over the Austrian inheritance, thus to the year 1748. From 1750 adaptation of the spaces on the 2nd floor came next in line. The work was carried out probably under the supervision of builder Tadeáš Adam Karner. In the years 1755 – 1756, Karner also carried out an extension of the 3rd floor of the building, which was reserved for accommodation of courtiers. Further im-portant construction activities came in the years 1761 – 1762. The second floor, on which were located the most representational spaces in the entire building, was adapted. By reducing the rooms a new corridor originated, and modifications were made to the mezzanine, intended for accommodation of servants.

In the 19th century no larger building reconstruction was made on the building. The grounds were continuously maintained. Only smaller work was done, so that a more comfortable stay was attained for the riding school which was based here. After confiscation of the property of the Habsburgs, the company Tokoš and Angelíny from Holíč adapted several spaces of the cas-tle for three school classes. The classes were situated throughout the castle building. In the end, two classrooms were even organized in the hallway on the first floor. On the occasion of the 80th birthday of the first Czechoslovakia president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, electrical lighting was run throughout the schools spaces of the castle.

Period photograph of Holíč Castle


BAROqUE REdEvELOPmENT OF HOLíč CASTLE

The owner of the estate, Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, as the wealthiest man of the monarchy could afford a financially demanding reconstruction of the fortress, which would correspond to period taste and the demands for housing of the imperial family. From archival records we know that the initiator of the reconstruction was the Emperor himself, who was well oriented on the trends of European building and the arts. The reconstruction was carried out in several stages. The result of the reconstruction became monumental and unique in this country, for example, the The-resa-era architecture, which together with the extensive grounds also formed the major dominant feature of the landscape. The composition of Holíč bears the stylish signs of the beginnings of the Theresian building art. The castle is designed in the spirit of the Viennese lavishness of Theresian classicism without claims on the exterior decorativeness. The entrusted designer of the building sensitively integrated the star-shaped bastion fortifications into a new layout for the house. The new arrangement had as a task to harmonise creatively and aesthetically all of the building periods appearing on the site and at the same time to accentuate elements supporting the monumentality of several centuries of architecture. In order to unify the mass of the Gothic castle and Renaissance fortress multiple-row brick supporting walls had to be built, thanks to which visible signs of the older architecture were removed. A great many architectural elements were placed behind these supporting walls, or were used in a secondary position or were used as building material in the embankments. The vision of the architect and the investor was to achieve by illusionary means the impression of a unified conception of the architecture, appearing as a new building with all of the then stylish elements, used in the Baroque style. However, this was not always successful. The gigantic mass of the Gothic palace together with the Renaissance modifications did not allow the architect to implement the subsequent Baroque layout. The piano nobile does not dominate the entire design and it is not excessively emphasized, not even on the façade. The monumental stair-case is placed asymmetrically. Rooms with a nearly square floor plan were placed alongside one another before the Baroque conversion and on the first two floors they do not correspond with one another. Their original connected ordering did not correspond to the new opinion on comfortable living, which was preferred by the nobility, namely the orientation of these spaces on the land-scape. Therefore, new interior walls made of wood were built. They were plastered on both sides and subsequently decorated with painting or stucco work. The choice of wood was certainly not a random one. A wooden interior wall was, if necessary, easier to disassemble compared to brick.

The axis of the entire grounds ran in an east–west direction, with a double tree-lined alley leading to the Baroque gate from the centre of the town, across a brick bridge and the entry gate, the cour d‘honneur, the entry vestibule and a passage of west wing and again emerged via a brick bridge through a gate in the fortress to the park and further into the landscape, where via a tree-lined alley it continued up to the nearby village of Kopčany. In order to create the cour d‘honneur, the so-called “court of honour” (a three-sided entry court), the entire east wing of the castle had to be removed. The building thus acquired the ground plan in the shape of a U.

In 1775, Grand Prince Fürst commented on the relationship of Francis Stephen to Holíč. In the case of the Holíč estate, the Emperor does not spare any expenses; he only wants to improve and beautify it. We can probably ascribe the plans for reconstruction of the castle, and with

11B A R O Q U E R E d E V E L O P M E N T O F H O L Í Č C A S T L E

respect to the artistic background of Francis Stephen, to court builder Jean Nicolas Jadot de Ville. His concept for reconstruction from 1748 resolved the castle as a castello, or fortified build-ing. The interior corresponded to all the representational and private demands of a monarchic family. With his work on the castle in Holíč, Jadot created a triple-winged building with a cour d‘honneur, rarely used in Upper Hungary (roughly modern Slovakia), with a main axis in the direction to the village, as well as to the background of the building, where the vast parklands, fishponds and pheasant runs were situated. According to some sources Franz Anton Hillebrandt also had a share in the design work. According to Vladimír Wagner the official purism used in the exterior did not have to be done by Jadot, but is the direct contribution of Hillebrandt. At the same time, the purism used corresponds with the economic efficiency in the taste of Francis Stephen. Hillebrandt probably worked in Holíč in the years 1771 and 1773 during the extension of the third floor of the castle building. The innovation of the facing with the double supported shallow gabled projection can be considered as his design.

A superb contribution of the author to the project is the interior design. The single blocks in the side buildings are connected by a central wing with a cumulation of the artistically demand-ing decorated spaces of the entry staircase hall, the salon and the chapel in opposition to the intimately tuned salon and residential rooms, which met the high demands for comfort of the aristocracy. The ground floor spaces, with embankments in the courtyard, ended up partially in an underground position. The main section of the castle, the so-called corps-de-logis, was situ-ated to the west wing. The main part was composed of an entry vestibule with a passageway, a staircase and ceremonial rooms located on the second floor. A chapel with a gallery was built in the northern wing. The second gallery is newer. It was added to the premises only during the 19th century.

Wall paintings by Jean Joseph Chamant on a today unknown subject were to have been located in the interiors of the castle. In 1759, Viennese painter Ferdinand Sebastian Fimbacher was to paint the interior of the palace, to create wall paintings drawing on the subject of history.

From the plans handed down we are able to identify the use of individual rooms on each floor. On each floor there were rooms reserved for valets, a place for personnel and rooms for stok-ers. The mezzanine, which originated in the years 1761 – 1762, was exclusively for servants, chambermaids. Rooms were also located here for the imperial bodyguards. On the ground floor was a theatre with an auditorium and a choir for musicians. In addition, a study for Baron von Toussaint was located here; a flat for the imperial adjutant, Count St. Julien; a flat for an unspec-ified archduke; and a flat for the head stableman, Prince von Auersperg. After reconstruction in 1761 and 1762 the first floor consisted of a room reserved for the imperial family and rooms set aside for ceremonial meetings. The first antechamber of his imperial eminence was located here, a second antechamber and a residential room for the Emperor. The first antechamber, a cabinet for the Empress, served for Maria Theresa. The imperial bedroom was also upstairs. Similarly as in their seats in Vienna, it was a common bedroom for both husband and wife. Fur-ther, there was also a flat here for one or two archduchesses. With the highest probability this was for the children of Francis Stephen and Maria Theresa. One antechamber and a bedroom were reserved for crown prince Joseph. Upstairs was also a residential room for the first lady of the court. Among the common rooms was a dining room, a gallery or gaming room and a mir-rored salon. On the third floor, which was built in the years 1755 and 1756, there were five flats


for courtiers and ladies, three flats for court ladies, two flats for other ladies, seven flats for valets and other rooms reserved, for ex-ample, for the imperial valet, for servants, the imperial stoker. The castle had approx-imately 100 rooms.

A report by writer Gottfried von Roten-stein, living in Bratislava at the time, in-forms us about the appearance of the castle in Holíč, which he saw in September of 1782 on a journey through Austria and Moravia to Brno. He characterized Holíč as a modest town, which lies on the edge of Hungary. It has 5500 residents, including 500 Jews, a parish church, one Capuchin monastery, a pharmacy, a factory for the production of majolica (glazed pottery) and, in his opinion, a completely gorgeous imperial castle. To get to the castle we must pass through a chestnut alley with 128 trees. We then come to a castle moat with water, a wall with 4 bastions and 4 guard towers. We can pass over the bridge into the first courtyard, where there is a par-terre with flowers and fountains, including

flowerboxes with flowers. The castle has three floors with a balustrade and a clock on the façade. The garden can be reached over a second bridge. There are four buildings around the castle. In the water moat are two round islands with poplar trees, and 1000 pheasants live in the garden. He didn’t leave the interiors out of his description either. He describes several rooms in his re-port. For example, the entry hall probably had green wallpaper with yellow flowers. Francis’s au-dience salon had brown velvet wall coverings, on which were light blue flowers. The throne with its canopy was also the same. Gold damask was used in the Emperor’s study. A fireplace from gray marble was located in the room. In another room with damask there was also a gray mar-ble fireplace. Over the fireplace was a beautiful floral painting. According to Rotenstein, there was a very pretty wardrobe here. One cabinet room had atlas wallpaper. In this room were gray engravings. The décor with the subject of Chinese houses, travellers, towns and plants looked unusually good. The floor was made of exotic wood species and very complexly designed. This room was the study of Maria Theresa. One room with red damask in the period of her presence served for the daughter of Maria Theresa, Maria Christina. A room with green damask was the room of her other daughter, Maria Anna. In another room are, for example, wallpapers with sub-jects from Chinese history and landscapes. The chapel was completely white. On the altar was a picture of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with the Most Holy Trinity. From the furniture he mentions, for example, a chest of drawers with four large drawers. Prussian King Friedrich the Great gifted the chest of drawers to the Emperor and it had a value of 14 000 fl. He also mentions a chandelier, chairs, armchairs, beds, and porcelain vases.

Cabinet room of Maria Theresa in 1920

13T H E C H i N E S E S A L O N

THE CHINESE SALONThe appearance of the rooms on the second floor were to a predominate measure determined by the wooden mosaic parquet floors, wooden inlay clad walls, textile wallpapers, wooden ac-cessories with painted rocaille ornamentation. The most demanding was the design decora-tion of a room located in the central axis of the second floor of the west wing in the western block. Based on the character of the décor, the room is called the Chinese salon. The floor plan is in the form of a rectangle oriented in a north-south direction. This room is passed through as a component of the enfilade of the entire west wing. The basic conception of the décor is fully in service of the Baroque-Rococo style. The large surfaces of the walls were divided into smaller parts using wooden elements, such as socles, panelling and overdoors. The sumptu-ous decorative ornamentation could be expressed in them. The artistic decorations were dom-inated by chinoiseries, artistic works of Chinese origin or works similar to a Chinese pattern. The chinoiseries are applied to large-surface leather wall-coverings and in the form of solitary paintings on wood in the socle part around the entire room, on the wooden door wings and on the scuntions of the windows and door openings. The supporting parts of the décor were the leather wall-coverings. They were fastened in blocks to a wooden blind frame, which for better support were fixed by cross and diagonal slats. The entire wooden construction is mounted onto a surface which is integrated into the space between the stucco profiled cornice in the upper part and the wooden socle in the lower part. The entire décor consists of 12 independent blocks, 6 of them large-dimensioned, which cover the larger part of the walls and the other 6 are smaller. They were placed in the western corners of the room and in the area between the wings and the double doors, which are a component of the enfilade. The authors of the paintings expressed varying degrees of knowledge of Chinese painting. The distribution of the scenes

The Chinese salon around 1920


on the individual walls of the room forced the author to accept a method of painting which is more often used for decorative screens. The foundation of the painting is made up of a foil made from silver leafing. The painting itself is done by use of glazed layers, with the technique of oil-based tempera. The demarcation of the painting from the background was attained by stamps with geometric ornamentation. The individual blocks are fringed by a passé-partout and with stylized plant ornaments and leafing. The entire creative conception consists of 60 paintings on wood with genre scenes. Half of them are located on the wooden socles, half in the scuntions of the windows and door entrances and in the wings of the doors. The genre scenes were mounted into horizontally constructed mirrors. The socle has a height of 85 cm, and in the lower part is sculpted skirting board.

The wooden architecture into which the mirrors are installed is also richly decorated. All of the door entrances have an overdoor above them. The ornament is applied in the window and door scuntions, and on the individual wings of the doors.

A component of the room is two marble fireplaces located on the side walls, with a mirrored extension fringed by rich ornamentation. In the interior part of the fireplace is a built-in dou-ble-door cabinet with simple square cassettes on the doors. This is probably a secondary mod-ification carried out only during the 19th century. Another two heating units take the form of two late-Classicist ceramic stoves with a round floor plan. Their placement into the space is secondary, proof of which is the disruption of the unity of the painted scenes on the wall-cov-erings and the decay of two chinoiseries in the socle. Their primary function was increasing the standard of the heating system. The stoves are of a hot-air character. Only hot air entered into the bodies of the stoves and by radiating through the walls and directly through the openings it heated the air in the room.

The three chandeliers date from the 19th century. They are suspended from the ceiling on a tex-tile rope decorated with ornamented tassels of gold-coloured strands. Their basic frame is of metal or brass. Ornaments made from ground glass or crystal make up a decorative element. Candles are fixed to barrelled collars with a flat circular bowl in the lower part. Three round light fixtures are located in the room, which probably date from the 20th century, when around 1919 the electrification of the building took place. Wooden parquet with a square ground plan was used for the flooring. Several pieces of furniture probably dating from the later historical styles are in the salon today. These include a bureau, a writing desk, a round table and two armchairs. We do not have any more detailed information about their original placement.

Unlike the other interiors of the building, the original character of the room décor is preserved relatively intact. From the viewpoint of its style, the artistic decor of the salon is done in the Rococo style with inspiration in the morphology of the French Rococo. It responds to the Clas-sicization of the Baroque form in France, with residual signs of Central European Baroque. The whole décor of what is today known as the Chinese salon is probably linked to the Baroque-Ro-coco conversion carried out in the first half of the 18th century. The artistic quality of this original set surpasses the regional setting.

15T H E C H A P E L

THE CHAPELIn the spaces of the castle building in Holíč is a chapel consecrated to the Marian feast day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The private chapel, situated within the castle, served for conducting private religious services for the Emperor and the circle of members of his court. For personal worship, they used a place set aside in other rooms, for example, in private rooms for personal contemplation and intimate prayer, consisting commonly of a small altar or picture with a religious subject. The chapel was equipped on the material side with the necessary fur-nishings. On the spiritual side furnishings with the necessary parameters were also available. From canonical visitations we learn that it had bishopric privileges, not defined in more detail. The selection of a patroness could have also been influenced and another very important event in the life of Francis Stephen, namely the awarding of the Order of the Golden Fleece from the hand of his future father-in-law Charles VI on the feast day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The service took place in the Chapel of All Saints at Prague Castle. Receipt of the Order of the Golden Fleece was an act of the highest distinction and, at the same time, an official introduc-tion of the prince to the court society. Membership in the Order of the Golden Fleece also rep-resented for each nobleman and monarch a prestigious lifetime honour.

Today, only the architecture of the main altar, without the altar picture, and the stucco dec-orations on the walls of the room have been handed down from the furnishings located di-rectly in Holíč Castle. On the altar picture, which is not a part of the altar today, were scenes of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary together with the Most Holy Trinity. The altar was dec-orated with small putti and a symbol of Most Holy Trinity. All of these parts were probably made in the Holíč factory for the production of faience. Likewise, another design for the altar has been preserved, this from 1761 by sculptor Anton Schwaiger, to whom a fee was paid for this design. An element of the décor during the ownership of the building by the Emperor was two silver bouquets in silver vases, which were gifted to the Emperor by Pope Clement XIV.

On the wall of the chapel are two small win-dows which were made in the second half of the 20th century. Using these windows, films were shown on a screen which was pulled in front of the altar. The films were screened for students who attended the vocational school located in the premises of the castle in the sec-ond half of the 20th century.

Picture from the Chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary


THE BASTION FORTIFICATIONSThe new-age fortification of Holíč Castle is formed by an exterior and an interior circle of fortifi-cations. The exterior new-age fortification is built as a four-sided bastion fortress. The fortifica-tions are made up of four bastions of a pentagonal ground plan, to which curtain walls are con-nected. Each of the bastions originally contained 10 embrasures, or openings for shooting. The entire perimeter of the walled part of the exterior fortification is enclosed by a wide water moat. A basic component of the interior circle of fortifications is the dry moat surrounding the space with the main building. The dry moat is made up of an escarpment of square shape, which had small guard towers located on its corners of a similar character as has been show to have existed on the bastions or the curtain walls. On the walled contra-escarpment is a main gallery with embrasures facing the moat. The embrasures are cut along the entire perimeter, but they are discontinuous, with an effort to preserve the principle of flanking in one direction. This means that two embrasures are never located opposite one another. The fortifications were built as a combination of earthen construction armed from the exterior side by a giant escarpment, from the interior side by the contra-escarpment of the dry moat of the fortification interior. The fortifications were formed by three circles, namely the dry moat, the bastion fortifications with a moat and the exterior circle of fortifications with a flat bulwark, which gradually sloped downward in an outward direction to the landscape, a so-called glacis. Behind the glacis was a covered path in an interior direction. Wooden bridges with at least one drawbridge probably led over the moat. In the Theresian period the wooden bridges were replaced by brick bridges.

The Castle in Holíč, Leopold Schmalhofer, 1801

17T H E B A S T i O N F O R T i F i C A T i O N S

Fortifications of the bastion type became a dominant element in European fortification construc-tion during the 16th and 17th centuries. The combination of earthen bulwarks and a walled es-carpment enabled resistance to the improvements made in artillery fire. The system of bastions and the curtain walls enabled the application of the principles of active defence. Construction of bastion fortifications in Hungary occurred in the period after the Battle of Mohács in 1526. Incur-sions of the Ottoman Empire compelled the Viennese court to begin to modernize the fortifica-tions on the territory of the monarchy. Pressure from the Ottoman Empire climaxed in 1663. After the fall of the fortress at Nové Zámky, the border of the Ottoman Empire shifted up to the River Váh. After defeat of the Ottoman military near St. Gotthard, Leopold I concluded the compromis-ing Peace of Vasvár with the Sultan in 1664. The Emperor was thus enabled to build the fortress at Leopoldov. Despite the Peace of Vasvár, the Turks further threatened the right-hand bank of the River Váh and gradually during their incursions penetrated up to Moravia. As a reaction to the Turkish behaviour the decision was taken to build fortifications around the castle in Holíč and the bastion fortifications in Šaštín. The exact dating of the construction of the bastion forti-fications is not known to us. Shortly after completion of the fortress the danger from the Turks subsided. With the greatest probability the new-age fortifications of the castle were used only in 1705 during an attack of Rákóczi’s insurgents. By the beginning of the 18th century the fortifica-tions in Holíč had lost their military importance due to the changed power–political associations. During ownership of the building by Francis Stephen the bastion fortifications were preserved in a nearly unchanged form. The interior surfaces of the bastions were included in the conception of park modification. The bastions were used as a lookout terrace with landscaping changes. The dry moat between the exterior and interior fortifications was also used for landscaping changes. A whole range of new buildings with residential and economic functions were built on all of the curtain walls of the exterior fortifications. The buildings are a single lengthwise perimeter wall built on the plinth part of the escarpment. The most significant building encroachment into the fortifications in this period was the construction of the building of the so-called Tobacco Factory, which reaches up to the premises of the embattlement of the eastern face of the bastion.

Small guard tower on a bastion – detail, period photograph


UNdERGROUNd CORRIdORSThe underground corridors which are a component of the fortification system of the bastion fortress in Holíč were probably built from the 14th century. Their primary role was enabling cover for the local population in the case of danger. They were used as a transport artery for supply-ing the castle or served for escaping from it in the case of its being conquered. According to a description of the course of battles for Holíč Castle in 1315, the Czech military attempted to infiltrate the castle that existed at that time by using an underground corridor. The plans of the corridors, their number, orientation and length are still not exactly known to us. Information about their orientation and length can come from the memories of soldiers who served in the Holíč Castle during the period of Austria-Hungary. Some of the soldiers in their stories men-tioned corridors leading in the direction to Popudinské Močidľany and Šaštín – Stráže.

At present eight underground corridors are known, running radially from the main building of the castle to the surrounding areas. These are the corridor leading above the old mill race between the M. Nešpor and Lúčky housing estates, the corridor leading alongside the build-ing which today houses Slovenská sporiteľňa (Slovak Savings Bank), three corridors running alongside one another in places of the Church of St. Martin in Holíč, a corridor leading along the right-hand side of Námestie Mieru (Peace Square) in the direction of the Gothic church, a corri-dor leading to the granary and a corridor heading toward the chapel of St. Margaret of Antioch, which is in the village of Kopčany. Their total length is several kilometres.

The underground corridors are built mainly from fired brick and stone. They are vaulted by a simple barrel vault.

Underground corridors at Holíč Castle

19T H E S T A B L E A N d T H E T O B A C C O F A C T O R y

THE STABLE ANd THE TOBACCO FACTORyBecause the fortifications lost their defensive function in the 18th century, two economic build-ings were constructed in close vicinity to them. Due to their primary functions, they are called the stable and the tobacco factory. The stable and the tobacco factory buildings form an entry backdrop to the grounds of the castle. Both buildings are in the shape of the letter L, with their longer wings placed on the edge of the curtain walls of the bastion fortification, and their short-er wings attached to the mass of the south-east and north-east bastion. The entry space beyond the main gate from both sides is fringed by stone pillars. The pillars form simple porticos and, at the same time, hold up the protuberant timbered construction. The entry space is along the sides of the gate accented by octagonal gatehouses which protrude over the moat. The stable and tobacco factory were originally of identical height and formed the symmetrical viewing foreground architecture of the main castle building. At the end of the 20th century the terraced roof of the tobacco factory building was raised. The time of construction of the buildings and their architect is not known to us.

The stable building is built south of the main gate. This is a single storey lengthwise double-block building with an entry at the northern part which is narrower. The building has a basement un-der its western quarter. The imperial draught horses were stabled in the building. We assume that the stable served only for temporary stay of the horses, which had to be immediately avail-able for the needs of the monarch, because in the vicinity of Holíč, in the village of Kopčany, a vast stud-farm was built. In the eastern block of the main wing a corridor led to two stables. Boxes served for the horses. Above each was a ventilation window into a shaft leading to the attic. Feeding troughs were located along the central dividing wall. One box always served for

The castle with the stable building


two horses. Further, several rooms were located in the building which were used for different purposes, such as food storage, a black kitchen, a preparation room, a stoking room, and a larg-er salon. The larger salons in the western block had high-quality décor, fragments of which are preserved even today on the walls and vaults of the stable. Paintings situated on the window scuntions present oriental scenes with exotic animals as well as figures in kimonos placed in a landscape. The selected subjects are similar to the scenes located in the Chinese Ssalon in the castle. On the western wall of the salon a square-shaped sample box was uncovered, the panes of which are filled with characters and subjects which served as the prototype for a definitive painting in the salon. The author of the paintings is unknown. During the 19th century, when the area was used as a military riding school, a prison was created in the cellar by adding new partitions and barrel vaults over the individual cells. The cells had stone portals with massive hinges. A component of the cell was a dry latrine in the form of stone cube with opening on the upper surface.

The tobacco factory had a different layout, which corresponded to its industrial use. Tobacco was dried and subsequently processed in the building. The wider part of the main wing served for two production halls, which were sunk into the terrain, so that the same height of both op-posite buildings was attained. Storerooms were located in the cellars of the building. Aside from the storerooms a small square room was located in the cellar, probably reserved for the needs of the head master.

Fragments of decorations of the stable with oriental scenes and paintings of exotic wildlife

21P A R K S A N d G A R d E N S O F H O L Í Č C A S T L E

PARkS ANd GARdENS OF HOLíč CASTLE

From the 1730s very intensive work began on the park surrounding Holíč Castle. To the east this was an English-style park, which joined the castle with the centre of Holíč via an alley. The larg-est activities, however, were focused behind the castle, where a French-style park was created which replaced the original one from the time of the Cobor family. The area of the other part of the park began being built in the spaces of the interior castle moat after reconstruction of the main building; here, complex structured symmetrical decorative flowerbeds were situated. The upper parts of the castle bastions were also modified into parklands and seeded with grass. By the end of the 18th century flowerbeds were also planted in the crowns of the bastions.

Economic buildings were situated in the entry area of the castle in the direction from the village. In the gap between them was an access road lined by trees in four rows that led to the castle. The castle was separated from the economic buildings by a band of trees and greenery. Behind it was a palisade walking path, which was lined with trees on both sides. The first court was al-most without greenery. Only in the corner bastions were the walls shaped from living plants. In the centre were flowerbeds or sculpted shrubs. The cour d’honneur was without greenery. How-ever, it is likely that there were planters here with differently shaped trees or flowerbeds. Beyond the moat in the direction of the village of Kopčany was a Baroque-Classicist pheasant run. The pheasant run was formed by forested area divided into several parts, either triangular or square. Each square was edged by alleys. At the conjunction of these alleys was a large circular area where there was a circular pool, probably with a water spout. Several rest areas were located around the park where benches and allegorical statues were situated. They were made intimate by trimmed living fences. The trimmed living fences were a major architectural element in the conception of the park. Views were directed not only at the architectural details in the park, but also to important objects in the town. The castle was the dominant feature of the entire space.

In the design of the landscaping all of the modern elements of the period were used, such as, for example, geometric shapes of the plant beds, alleys in the shape of tridents, walls with gates, small park architecture. The Emperor himself probably had the decisive word in the creation of the park. He had had a deep love of nature since childhood. With the help of his collaborators from Lorraine, who surrounded him, he established the park near Schönbrunn in Vienna and a botanical garden. His work is a part of the park near Laxenburg Castle in Austria. Francis also established a zoological garden in Vienna, in which exotic animals were kept. The animals and plants were to a great measure imported from expeditions which were supported by the mon-arch himself. It is more than probable that the Emperor himself shared by his own initiative in the design of the gardens around the castle in Holíč. Testimony to the great interest of the Em-peror in the castle park lies in the fact that in the mid 1760s the Holíč gardener had as many as four paid permanent assistants. So that the gardeners had the best working conditions possible, a new building was built for them near the park in 1751. The park was guarded by a military veteran who also had a small house near one of the walls. The running of the castle gardens and park was handled by experienced foreign experts. Additional work was done by their assistants


from the ranks of the domestic residents. In the 1750s, for example, two gardeners from Lor-raine, Durnoy and La Clange, took care of the gardens.

Water was an important element in the conception of the Baroque garden. Alongside buildings, such as the houses for the gardeners, the guard and the castle pheasant-keeper in the mid-18th century, fountains were to be added to the park furnishings. However, their construction was never carried out. The dominant feature of the entire park was to be a great representative foun-tain in the central part of the park, in the part where the axis was horizontal. According to plans handed down, we know that one of the designed fountains had a round shape with a stone bor-der. It was formed by a central massive metal figure, from which water sprayed out. The author, who is unknown, came from Italy. A second design is of French origin. In contrast to the fountain from Italy, it is more complex. The fountain had the character of an artificial cave, a grotto with an interior room, where part of its technological works was located. The water source for the fountain was piping placed under the main path with the bridge. A water main with the cast-iron pipe driven by gravitational force was to be connected from the cistern on a hill above the town. Sufficient water pressure had to be secured by a technical solution unknown to us in more detail. At the turn of the 18th to 19th centuries the Holíč Castle park acquired a new form. Its author was Johann Kegel. His modifi-cation of the park was inspired by the more sparing English models. The planting in the castle park was sim-plified. A portion of the park was di-vided into linear zones. Several trees were planted in the park. The bas-tions were covered only in grass in the second half of the 19th century. In this period the flower beds within the castle moat were also removed. Given the fact that after the death of Francis Stephen the castle ceased serving its representational purpose, not even care for the park was main-tained as its Baroque-Classicist form required. The castle and park togeth-er formed a single compositional unit, dominating the whole town up to the founding of the first Czecho-slovak Republic, when the pheasant run was cut down.

Architecturally formed fountain in the castle park (design)

23F U R N i S H i N G S O F H O L Í Č C A S T L E

FURNISHINGS OF HOLíč CASTLEAt present the specific, complete furnishings which were located in Holíč Castle is not known. After the death of the Emperor in1765, several objects from the furnishings were removed on the command of his wife, Maria Theresa, whether from the castle in Holíč or the castle in Šaštín, with its area smaller, serving to the satisfaction for the Emperor’s hunting activities. In 1921, when the castle in Holíč was taken over by the Czechoslovak Republic, several works, such as, for example, pictures, sculptures and furniture, were still stored in the individual salons of the castle. Oil paint-ings with the subject of still lifes, portraits and mythological subjects were still in the castle in the 1930s. In 1940, another assessment was made, during which it was found that the majority of the inventory had already been taken apart. The fate of Holíč is not a unique case in Slovakia. After the Second World War, often no information was brought from the original environment from which the items were taken to the new location. In the majority of cases no record cards were processed by the National Culture Commission, the use of which would today help us to find their original owner and location. The movement of the objects that found their place in the so-called collec-tions of the National Culture Commission, which had been situated on the premises of castles and palaces, was at the beginning practically non-stop and not subject to any controls. At the same time the elimination of items, which were subsequently destroyed, sold, stolen and thus irretriev-ably lost was counted on. Such practice is today unacceptable. A disadvantage for the castle in Holíč became the fact that after the death of her husband, Maria Theresa stopped visiting Holíč. The same happened with Belveder Castle in Šaštín. After the death of her husband, Maria Theresa no longer considered it necessary to maintain this building. In June 1766, Jan Adam Posch of the Vienna administration of the Šaštín estate, ordered all preserved mattresses, pillows, and blankets be carried from Belveder to Schönbrunn in Vienna. In September of this same year, J. A. von Posch announced that the Empress had ordered that part of the furnishings of Belveder Castle be taken to the Halbturn Castle in Burgenland, in what is today Austria, and to the castle in nearby Holíč. Specifically, these were the furnishings from the kitchen, the sweetshop and the cellars. Unneed-ed and extra pieces of furniture were stored at the castle in Holíč.

In addition to the decorations and furnishings of the so-called Chinese Ssalon and the chapel, several solid components of the décor in the form of stucco, banisters, fragments of wall paintings, metal fixtures on doors (such as, for example, catches and bars), wooden entrance doors, equip-ment from clock drives, fireplace parts, in some rooms the tiles, parquet, flooring from oak stumps or part of the décor of the grotto have been handed down in the castle today.

We are able to determine with certainty that pictures were hanging in the castle that are today stored in the Slovak National Museum – the Historical Museum in Bratislava (SNM – HMB), namely oil on canvas coming probably from the 17th century. These are a still life with flowers and a still life with fruit. Further, this is a still life on a table painted with an oil-on-canvas technique probably from the 18th century and a picture with a mythological subject representing Theseus and the Queen of the Amazons. This oil-on-canvas probably dates from the 17th century.

A component of the interior furnishings of the castle was also a set of paintings of the nearest members of the family of Francis Stephen of Lorraine. The portraits are conceived in a paint-er’s oval, which is situated in a rectangular format. The portraits are of Francis’s wife Maria Theresa,


son Joseph II, Maximilian Francis, daughters Maria Antonia, Maria Elisabeth, Maria Amalia, niece and Joseph’s wife Isabella and the Emperor Francis Stephen of Lorraine himself. Today the paint-ings are located in the collection fund of the SNM – HMB. The portrait of Maria Elisabeth got into the collection of the SNM – HMB Bratislava by purchase in 1955 and the portrait of Isabella of Parma likewise by purchase in 1954. The pictures of Maria Antonia, Maria Amalia, Maximilian and Joseph were obtained by a transfer in 1944 from the castle in Holíč, similarly as the portraits of Maria Theresa and Francis Stephen. The museum acquired the painting of Maria Theresa before 1938 and her husband only in 1961.

Portrait of Maria Elisabeth from Holíč

25F U R N i S H i N G S O F H O L Í Č C A S T L E

The author of the work is not known. However, we can on the basis of searching for analogous works in the Central European painting environment determine the style and subject of the work which the author used. The painter selected as a prototype for his composition pictures from a set of portraits representing members of the family of Francis I of Lorraine and Maria Theresa by painter J.E. Liotard from 1762. Liotard detached himself in his composition from the majestic setting of the scene, showing the lustre and wealth of the imperial line. He did not portray the monarch’s insignia or even much jewellery. The background of his work is neutral. Liotard painted 19 members of Francis’s closest family. The set was probably supplemented over time in consequence of the gradual addition of new family members. The portraits of the two wives of Joseph II and the husband of Maria Christina, Albert Casimir – Duke of Teschen, were gradually added.

The work of Liotard was very valuable even during his lifetime. Today determining his author-ship is difficult, because the artist rarely signed his work; what’s more, a great many imitators of his works were also found and therefore there are only a few guaranteed real Liotard miniatures. According to correspondence handed down, Maria Theresa was still in contact with the artist in 1779. In the case of pictures from Holíč, the work and inspiration with Liotard’s work was par-tially limited only to the costume element. The conception of Francis’s figure and face is already a special contribution of the painter. The painter applied his own invention in the form of richer plant embroidery on the coat, thus emphasizing the lusciousness and expense of the clothing.

Liotard’s original set found a place in Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, where the paintings are placed in unified frames, which helps the portraits to be seen as a common set. The connection of the pictures is intensified by hanging them on one wall. In the case of the pictures of mem-bers of the family from Holíč we are unable to determine with precision in which room of the castle they were located. The fact also comes to mind that each of them could have had their own separate place and could have been hung in another room, because unlike Liotard’s com-positions, which are miniatures, the portraits from Holíč are of larger dimensions. As we have already stated, J. E. Liotard painted a set of works, which served as a prototype of the work taken by us to be from 1762. The year 1762 was probably the year of completion of the reconstruction of the major parts of the castle building in Holíč, and it was most probably in this period after 1762 that installation was done of the set of portraits of members of Francis’s family to the spac-es of the castle. The other furniture for the interior of the castle was taken from Vienna to Holíč in 1740. Therefore, the portraits had to originate before 1765, the year Francis Stephen died and the castle in Holíč became a secondary seat for members of the Habsburg line. According to records handed down, Francis Stephen visited his seat in Holíč every two weeks. If we consider the distance to Holíč from Vienna, the Emperor must have spent the majority of his time on the roads. In the majority of cases he travelled only in a coach. He stopped riding on horseback ear-ly, because he was handicapped by his growing bodily mass and a catarrh in his upper respirato-ry system. Therefore, we can say that the selection of the portraits representing members of his family is in no way random, just the opposite, in fact. In today’s sense we could compare them to the photographs of children, parents, siblings, which we today use to decorate our home so that we always feel as close as possible and constantly in contact, even though only through photo-graphs. We find Francis in the same clothing as in the portrait from Holíč in the property of the SNM – Museum Červený Kameň, SNM – Museum Bojnice, and the SNM – Museum Svätý Anton.


LIFE AT HOLíč CASTLELife for the Viennese court was fully in line with the Spanish court ceremonial. At summer pal-aces the simpler “German country ceremonial“ was applied. There were special rules for every-thing. For instance, a travel and hunting ceremonial was in existence. In contrast, life at Holíč Castle was more intimate.

Emperor Francis Stephen of Lorraine made the 8-hour journey from Vienna to Holíč often only with his brother, Charles Alexander of Lorraine and small entourage. Other times his accom-paniment had as many as 400 people. Among the visitors to the castle are found prominent names, such as Leopold Joseph Daun, Heinrich Auersperg and Count Franz Esterházy. In 1746, for a more comfortable trip to the estate, 5 postal stations were set up between Vienna and Holíč, where not only members of the entourage could rest, but also the horses. In the Záhorie region the estate came through Moravská Nová Ves (in today’s Czech Republic). The arrivals of the Habsburgs to the castle were always done with great ceremony. Francis Stephen personally devoted great interest to the estate. He spent all of his free time at the castle in Holíč. He felt at home here; he could live here as he wanted, surrounded by faithful natives of Lorraine. The diary of court master Khevenhüller - Metsch informs us about the exact dates of the monarch’s stay in Holíč. From the many stays of Francis Stephen we can list, for example, his residence from 31 August to 6 September 1741, 30 June to 7 July1756, and from 11 July – 18 August 1764. He was in Holíč for the last time from 10 April – 13 April 1765. When it was possible, Francis Stephen shortened the journey from official visits home to Vienna through Holíč. For example, in 1751 af-ter completing visits to mining towns in Central Slovakia, he stopped in Holíč, or in 1754 during a return journey from a visit in Olomouc, the imperial husband and wife returned via Holíč. Francis Stephen and his wife Maria Theresa enjoyed seeing their estate in Holíč. Sometimes, to make her husband happy, she even took part in the hunts. At the same time, however, she chose where she would go. The custom at the time was that if she came on a visit to any estate, she had to bring a gift to the owner. It was no different even when she wanted to visit the castle in Holíč. In the end one such journey to Holíč had to be put off because there was no money for the purchasing of gifts. The idea was comical that Maria Theresa would have to borrow money from her husband in order for her to have an appropriate gift for a ceremonial visit in Holíč.

A par force de chiens hunt, or chase

27L i F E A T H O L Í Č C A S T L E

The imperial residence offered many attractions, whether in the form of the castle, the castle the-atre, the park with pheasant or the fishponds with small rowboats. An active social life functioned at Holíč Castle during a stay of its owner. Hunting for deer and pheasant were first among the court pleasures and pastimes. Men mainly amused themselves by hunting. Francis Stephen had loved hunting since childhood. The Emperor headed out of the castle on the hunt on horseback in the early morning hours, together with his hosts, often ending up at the nearby Gbely pheasant run. Hunting was then capped with refreshments and music. Women passed the time with walks through the castle park and played the card game Pharao. Not far from the castle, for diversion of the estate, was also a reservoir or bathing pool, in which the lord allegedly kept 9 seals.

The monarch also passed the time with theatrical plays. The French servants that Francis sur-rounded himself with at the estate in Holíč, together with the castle courtiers, officers and their wives, took on the role of actors in dramas and short operas. These were performed in the castle at Holíč. From 1746 – 1766, a total of 13 French theatrical presentations were held in the spaces of the castle. The castle in Holíč became the first place in the former Kingdom of Hungary where the noble theatre began to be played, which at first was performed in French and after 1756 also in German. The theatre in Holíč began its activities on 22 August 1746 with the staging of Moliére’s comedy The Misanthrope. The diary of imperial court master Prince J. J. Khevenhüller – Metsch also mentions other theatrical plays. For example, on 24 August 1746, a comedy by R. Poisson Baron de la Crasse was performed. In 1747, the servant staff performed the play Les vacances by Florent Carton Dancourt. In 1749, the castle personnel rehearsed a performance of Crispín Medicín by author Hauteroche for Francis Stephen. Alongside theatrical plays operas were also presented in the castle. The performances had lavish sets. Testimony of this is the fact that from 1761 painter Jean Joseph Chamant painted decorations for the castle theatre. The entou-rage of the Emperor and his family always included the court musical group or only some musi-cians who ranked among the best in Europe. A no less important activity was the consuming of good food, of which there was enough. The lord could also spend time consuming coffee and chocolate. However, all of these activities were exclusive only for the estate courtiers; the com-mon residents of Holíč did not usually have free access to the premises of the imperial residence.

View of the chestnut alley leading from the castle to the town


HOLíč CASTLE ANd ITS CUISINEThe estate cuisine, the foods, the prepared feasts for the imperial family at Holíč Castle was based on the traditions of the Viennese imperial court. However, they were probably done in a less formal and a reduced form than at the court in Vienna, which followed the rules of Span-ish etiquette. The imperial couple used their own private dining room in the castle in addition to the spaces intended for official occasions, in which feasts were held with a larger number of guests. The castle had very well-dimensioned and equipped kitchen spaces and pantries with adequate stocks. Likewise, a special pantry was found here, where the silverware, glass, porce-lain and majolica service were kept, or the textiles used at the dining table.

Personnel, such as cooks, undoubtedly were part of the imperial family’s entourage and trav-elled with them to Holíč Castle or before them in order to ensure everything that was needed prior to their arrival. The task of officials was prior to the arrival of the Emperor or members of his family to prepare the kitchen spaces, secure sufficient foodstuffs, cool game animals, prepare ice pits and other things. In addition to ingredients which were carried from Vienna or another part of the monarchy, foods could be bought directly in the town or obtained from local farms and forests. For example, spices and exotic additives for food could come from Holíč traders, which in the 18th century commonly offered even colonial goods in Holíč. Unique to Holíč compared with other towns was the fact that a master sweets-maker settled here in the mid-18th century, providing coffee and chocolates. Unique equipment for preparing them were even located in the accommodation spaces for guests. This was probably a container for hot water. Near Holíč Castle was also a kitchen garden, which was looked after by gardeners coming from Lorraine, in France. The Lorraine gardeners devoted themselves to a fruit orchard and new seedlings, grafting and the handling of trees. Among other tasks, they collected and conserved cultivated fruits and vegetables. Fruits collected from the garden were stored in the old pheasant run and further processed by drying in a large-capacity hot-air dryer. Fruits were thus either directly consumed fresh or dried. The imperial dining table offered pheasant, duck, fish or beaver. All of these animals were bred in the area around the castle. In the 1730s two new pheasant runs were established in the castle park. Unique in our context was the duck farm that originated in the 1750s as a part of the residence in the village of Kopčany. Fish were bred together with crayfish in the reservoirs and fishponds near the castle. Beavers were also raised in the reservoir found on the castle grounds. An interesting note is that beaver, as a water animal, was considered to be a food suitable for eating during fasts, and therefore, it replaced other meats during Lent.

Dining at the imperial court in the second half of the 18th century was influenced by the tone of French cuisine. All of the mentioned delicacies were served on imposing dining sets consisting of tens of containers decorated in a unified way. An exceptionally favoured and the most sig-nificant decoration was a flower motif consisting of a rich scale of muffled colours of different shades. We are speaking about Holíč faience, made in a factory in Holíč, established by Francis Stephen of Lorraine. We do not know the exact date of its founding, though it falls in the period around 1736.

29T H E d E E R C H A S E

THE dEER CHASEThe par force de chiens (“by force of dogs”) method of hunting, or “the chase”, gradually evolved from medieval hunting, during which riders on horseback, using hunting dogs, chased after and hunted down large and dangerous game animals, such as deer, roe deer, wild boar, bear and wolf. We do not have any direct evidence regarding the first such chases at the Holíč estate. Accounting documents from the Holíč estate from 1752 inform us about the start of breeding of dogs, which were probably dogs used for the chase. In 1755, the estate paid about 277 guldens for feed and in 1762, this was now 623 guldens. For the sake of interest, we can add that each year 4,083 loaves of barley bread, 10,000 Viennese funts (which is about 5600 kg) of bowels and 562 litres of milk were purchased for feeding the dogs. An expert, whom they called La France, or a forester from the village of Kátov cared for the dogs, which were taken from Vienna. As a wage for the care of the dogs, he received 3 kreutzers per day, per dog. By the end of the 18th century, however, the par force de chiens hunting gradually ended at the estate. At a time when the military riding school–training institute was located in the castle, the surroundings of the castle were abundantly used for hunting. The commanders of the institute were usually masters of the chase, but often also the leader of a military unit. Attendees, who were active riding offi-cers, usually came to Holíč in turns. Training began in September and lasted until the end of No-vember. In a three-month stay 12 – 20 rides were conducted. Taking part in one ride were 8 – 12 riders, 2 – 3 trumpeters, 20 – 25 pairs of dogs under the leadership of a huntsman, dog-handlers, bloodhounds and other personnel. They usually chased after young male deer, doe, daniel, roe deer or fox. Only riding school attendees riding in military uniform took part in the par force de chiens hunting rides. They wore a semi-circular velvet cap on their heads.

The most celebrated rides were held on the holiday of the patron saint of hunters, St. Hubert, on 3 November, where a stage deer was hunted. The deer were prepared at the estate in Hodonín (in today’s Czech Republic) and then transported to Holíč in a special wooden wagon. During the Hubert ride the riders were dressed in hats. Likewise, a large number of riders took part in it from the ranks of civilian guests. The maximum number was 80. The riding institute closed in 1918. During its 35 years of existence attendees took part in more than 380 par force de chiens hunting rides.

The deer chase at the Holíč estate


Sources and literature used

Slovak National Archive, Fund of the Imperial Estate at Holíč

DAMBORÁK, Florián. Holíč. Holíč: Mest. Nár. výbor, 1970.

DYNKA, Pavol – MOLNÁR, Ladislav. Parforzné poľovačky na Holíčskom zámku. Holíč: Mesto Holíč.

FIALOVÁ, Ivana – RAGAČ, Radoslav. Stopy hospodárskych aktivít Františka Štefana Lotrinského na cisárskom panstve Holíč. Skalica: Regionálna rozvojová agentúra Skalica, 2010.

GALAMBOŠ, Ivan. Reštaurátorský návrh na reštaurovanie kožených maľovaných tapiet v Čínskej sale v kaštieli v Holíči. unpublished.

GOJDIČ, Ivan. Pamiatkový výskum koniarne a tzv. tabačiarne v areáli holíčskeho kaštieľa. In: Pamiatka Trnavy a Trnavského kraja 14. Trnava: Krajský pamiatkový úrad, 2011.

HOFERKA, Martin. Šaštínsky (vice) archidiakonát v 16. – 18. storočí. Skalica: Záhorské múzeum, 2011.

HOLEC, Roman. Poslední Habsburgovci a Slovensko. Bratislava: Ikar, 2001.

IRŠA, Rudolf. Holíč – dejiny a súčasnosť (I. časť – dejiny do roku 1918 a pamiatky). Holíč, 1990.

Kolektív autorov. Kaštieľ v Holíči (Múzeum keramiky na Slovensku). Bratislava: Projektový ústav kultúry, útvar obnovy pamiatok Bratislava – Hrad, Projektová úloha, 1979.

KUBÁSEK, L. Holíč – kaštieľ, Historicko – archívny výskum, PUK, Archív PU SR, Zbierka výskumných správ, sign. T – 1198, Bratislava, 1979.

MIKOLETZKY, Leo. Holics und Sassin, die beiden Mustergüter des Kaisers Franz I. Stephan. In: Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 14, 1961.

RAGAČ, Radoslav – FIALOVÁ, Ivana. Parky a záhrady Holíčskeho panstva. Holíč: Mesto Holíč, 2014.

RAGAČ, Radoslav – FIALOVÁ, Ivana. Tereziánske delikatesy. Holíč: Mesto Holíč, 2013.

RAGAČ, Radoslav a kol. Zlatý vek cisárskej rezidencie v Holíči v období Františka Štefana I. Lotrinského. Skalica: Regionálna rozvojová agentúra Skalica, 2010.

RATKOŠ, Peter. Dodatky k historicko – archívnemu výskumu Holíč – kaštieľ. unpublished.

RUSINA, Ivan. (ed.). Barok. Dejiny slovenského výtvarného umenia. Bratislava: SNG, 1998.

STAUD, Géza. Adelstheater in Ungarn. In: Theatergeschichte Österreichs. Wien, 1977.

UČNÍKOVÁ, Danuta. Portréty Márie Terézie a jej rodiny. Bratislava: SNM – HM, 1991.

VOJTEK, Miklós, Terpsichora Istropolitana (Tanec v Prešporku 18. storočia). Bratislava: Divadelný ústav, 2009.

WURZBACH, Constantin. Biographisches Lexikon des Kaisertums Österreich 3. Wien, 1858.

ZAJÍČKOVÁ, Mária. História remesiel na Holíčskom panstve. Holíč: Mesto Holíč, 2013.

ŽUFFOVÁ, Jaroslava. Holíč – kaštieľ architektonicko – historický výskum SV bastiónu. unpublished.

Wall covering from the Chinese salon

Author of the text: Mgr. Veronika Chňupková Images: Slovak National Archive Bratislava, Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic,

CEMUZ – central catalogue of museum collections, Town Archives of Holíč Photo: Eduard Timko, CBS, graphic design: Method Design Studio

Published by: © Mesto Holíč, Bratislavská 5, 908 51 Holíč, www.holic.sk, Tel.: 034 32105 82This material was not proofread.

ISBN: 978-80-972108-0-9

Documents

HolíCˇ Castle - O projekte · day’s Holíč which belonged to the Valy-Mikulčice ... success, he was now a ... the castle. In 1970, the castle was declared a National Cultural