Gold Coin 2000 CZK Chateau in Litomysl Renaissance 2002 Standard

Gold Coin - Ten Centuries of Architecture - Renaissance

On the obverse side, in the upper part of the coin field, there is a loose composition of stylized heraldic animals made of provincial emblems, the Czech lion, Moravian and Silesian eagles. The Czech lion is in the middle between the two eagles. The name of the state 'CZECH REPUBLIC' is in the line below the heraldic animals. The lower part of the coin field depicts a mermaid from the sgraffito on the facade of the Litomyšl castle. The text 'TEN CENTURIES OF ARCHITECTURE' is in the unsealed description at the left and right edge of the coin and the denomination of the coin's face value '2000 CZK' at the bottom edge of the coin under the mermaid.

The central motif of the reverse side is a depiction of the Litomyšl castle from above, supplemented at the lower edge of the coin by the motif of a griffin on a ball from a figural sgraffito from the façade of the castle tower, and at the upper right edge by the emblem of the Pernštejn family - a bison head with a bison's mane. At the edges of the coin there is an unsealed inscription 'RENESANCE LITOMYŠL CASTLE 2002', with the year separated from the rest of the text by a distinct dot. The initials of the author of the design, the academic sculptor Jiří Věneček, are in the lower left part of the coin below the griffin's joint.

Litomyšl Castle

The Renaissance chateau from the second half of the 16th century has enjoyed this honour since 1999. It is the most important Renaissance monument in the Czech Republic, the hallmark of its uniqueness is given by its beautiful arcades based on Italian models. Despite the interior modifications, especially at the end of the 18th century, it still retains an almost untouched appearance from the Renaissance, including the sgraffito decoration of the facades and gables, which is a unique work of art as its motifs are not repeated. Paintings in the shape of small letters cover all the walls of the castle. The walls have also preserved large figurative scenes of scenes from the life of Emperor Constantine, made using the same technique.

The earliest mention of the castle's existence in Litomyšl can be found in the Chronicle of Kosmas from the first quarter of the 12th century. The chronicler there mentioned the existence of the castle in 981. Earlier it was a wooden castle. Only after the Hussite wars a new stone castle was built. In 1567, the son of the Moravian governor Vratislav of Pernštejn received the Litomyšl estate with the castle from Emperor Ferdinand as a fief. The new owner, one of the most powerful noblemen in the kingdom, had the castle built in 1568-1581 as a residence for himself, his Spanish consort Maria Manrique de Lara of the Mendoza family - Empress Maria's lady-in-waiting - and their 21 children in the form of a two-storey four-winged building with a square courtyard. The builder was the architect Giovanni B. Aostalli.

In 1649 the Trauttmansdorff family acquired the castle, a hundred years later the Wallensteins became the owners and the Thurn-Taxis family were the last owners. The chateau itself is surrounded by farm buildings, built and landscaped mainly in the Baroque style, the chateau grounds are complemented by a large garden, which was founded at the same time as the chateau and landscaped and expanded in the 18th century. It also includes a natural amphitheatre. Litomyšl is an excellent example of a Central European noble residence from the Renaissance period, which has retained its integrity even after transformations in the style of new artistic trends.

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