The Nová Horka Castle in Studénka is opening after extensive renovation

Studénka - Nová Horka Castle in Studénka, in the Nový Jičín region, is reopening to visitors after extensive reconstruction. Until 2016, it housed a social institution, after which it was taken over by the regional Museum of Nový Jičín, which is restoring the monument and has prepared an exhibition there. Starting Monday, visitors will be able to view, for example, the Chapel of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross or the sala terrena. This was stated by representatives of the Moravian-Silesian Region and the museum director Zdeněk Orlita.

"The castle was used by social services for many years and gave quite a gloomy impression. A significant investment was unavoidable, and I am genuinely pleased that nobility and beauty have returned to these spaces, which visitors will be able to fully enjoy," said the deputy governor for culture and heritage care Lukáš Curylo (KDU-ČSL).

The deputy governor for finance, investments, and property, Jaroslav Kania (ANO), stated that the restoration of the castle has already cost nearly 70 million crowns, of which 26 million was contributed by European sources, and the rest came from the regional treasury. The reconstruction included a complete renewal of the façades and the interiors of the castle's first floor, and the castle park has also been modified.

"All floor coverings were renovated, wooden paneling was restored, and the paintings in the corridors and rooms were reconstructed. Restorers have done an admirable job on the stone carving and carpentry elements in the castle," said Kania.

Orlita mentioned that the tour route will show visitors essentially the entire ground floor. "The exhibition route will take them through the castle library, which houses the original collection of the Nová Horka castle library. It is a collection of old prints from roughly the first quarter of the 16th century to the 20th century. They can look forward to a tour of the sala terrena, the original garden hall, which has been fully reconstructed and restored in the last three years," said the director.

Adjacent to the sala terrena, an interactive exhibition dedicated to the nearby natural monument Kotvice has been installed. In the castle chapel, visitors will see, among other things, the original altar from the second half of the 19th century, which was made for the Nová Horka chapel after the fire in the castle in 1857, which destroyed its original baroque furnishings.

In addition, the museum had restored and supplemented the altar from the chapel of the castle in Odry, which also burned down and no longer exists, from its own collections. "We installed it to bring visitors closer to the sculptural decoration from the High Baroque period, as they might have encountered it in Nová Horka if the fire had not occurred in the mid-19th century," said Orlita.

The originally baroque castle in Nová Horka from the mid-18th century belonged to the Vetter family von der Lilie until 1945. From 1948, it served social purposes. Initially, it housed disabled children, then a retirement home, which later transformed into an institution for mentally disabled women. However, the spaces of the castle gradually no longer met these purposes, and the last inhabitants moved out in 2016.

The castle will be open daily except Mondays from 09:00 to 17:00 in October, with free entry. From November to March, visits will be possible by appointment.