Historie hradu a zámku Frýdlant
Frýdlant is one of largest and most important heritage sites in Northern Bohemia. It consists of two architectural complexes: a medieval castle and a renaissance chateau. The castle was built around the mid-13th century. In 1278, the domain became property of the Biberstein house who took major part in building the large castle palace. Between 1558 and 1620, Frýdlant was owned by the Redern house that continued to upgrade the domain. The Rederns were good managers and warriors, but also builders and art supporters. They built the new renaissance chateau and the chapel.
Between 1622 and 1634, the castle belonged to Albrecht of Wallenstein. He bought it for 150,000 guldens and gradually built a large domain. His estates flourished greatly during the Thirty Years War as they supplied his army. The Frýdlant region was called Terra felix – the happy country.
After Albrecht’s murder in 1634, the emperor gave Frýdlant to the Gallas house, and since 1759 the domain was owned by the Clam-Gallases, an important aristocratic house active in diplomatic and military circles at the imperial court. They remained until 1945 when Frýdlant became property of the state.
The original gothic castle hasn’t been preserved in its entirety. Nowadays, the castle is a large two-floor building around the small, irregularly shaped courtyard, with the predominant cylindrical tower – a bergfrit. The castle was growing over time, and underwent two renaissance reconstructions in the 16th century. The chapel and the renaissance chateau were built at the turn of the 16th and 17th century by Marco Spazzio di Lancio. The last big reconstruction took place in the 1860s, when the castle warden wing was rebuilt.
In 1801, the Clam-Gallases enabled public access to a part of the castle with exhibitions, making it the first castle museum in the Central Europe. The current exhibition includes this museum, the chapel with valuable items, and two chateau wings.
