History of Bítov castle

The ancient cultural scenery around the junction of Dyje and Želetavka has been inhabited since the neolith. According to local findings a Great Moravian fortification existed near castle in the 8th or the 9th century. The castle was the important strong point of Premyslid family. It was built on a narrow cliff, circa 70 metres above the river Želetavka that flows around it. A townlet Bítovec grew up below the castle, the significant stop-off for traders and pilgrims. The administration of Premyslid castles was entrusted to prince Konrád Oto (1185). Later under the rule of Přemysl Otakar I. (1222) Bítov has become a centre of one of the Moravian regions –Bítov district (province Bethowiensis). The castle administrates these regions: Slavonice, Dačice, Jemnice, Moravské Budějovice and Telč. The oldest extant stonework of the castle (with Romanic foundations) is a defensive blade tower from the Bítov’s times of glory.

The first written mention of Bítov comes from the foundation charter of chapter house in Stará Boleslav from the year 1046. There is a hypothesis that Bítov was founded by prince Břetislav I. (1003 – 1055). The uninterrupted fortress line of castles protecting the Czech - Austrian border was established on the river Dyje in the 12th century. It is interesting, that similar fortress line has been created on the Austrian side to prevent bohemian attacks (fortress areas – Raabs, Pernegg, Walkenstein etc.).

After Premyslid family died out in male tail (assassination of Václav III. in Olomouc – 1306) the Lichtenburg’s clan got the enfeoffment of the castle in 1307 immediately. The Lichtenburg’s come from wide-branched Czech family – lords from Ronov. As the stirps Smil Světlický (the 12th century) is marked, the constructor of the family estate Světlík (Lichtenberg). The clan grows rich especially on mining silver near today's Havlíčkův Brod. In 1278 Rajmund became the stirps of Moravian Lichtenberg branch. He became also the first Moravian county marshal. Under his rule the castle was largely rebuild – the centre was moved higher and more eastern on the cliff. The fortification with additional three towers and a new farmhouse has been built. Also a new castle chapel of Virgin Mary’s Ascension has been built on the courtyard (1334).

The Lichtenburg house wants to increase its power and builds another castle near Bítov. Its name is Cornštejn (Zornstein - in German – early 14th century).

The Rajmund's sons Smil and Čeněk settled down in the castle for good and renamed themselves as the Bítovští from Lichtenburg. So Bítov has become one of the main Lichtenburg’s residences for the next 250 years. The Lichtenburg were fighting bravely with the bohemian kings against the Prussian, Hungarian and Turkish enemies. That's why they always were dominant in bohemian politics. The last male heir was Jindřich from Lichtenburg. He died on 29th September 1572. The inheritresses became his daughters.

Bítov was the possession of Ludmila; in 1576 she sold it to Austrian aristocrat Wolf Strein from Švarcenava (the hetman of the castle in Znojmo). The following 36 years of Strein's rule in Bítov was a scant chapter. The Wolf's son Hanuš Wolfart wanted to be equal to the Italian noblemen. After obtaining the Uherčice castle he has expensively rebuild it into the Renaissance residence in North Italian style with arcade courts and gardens. This made him, together with exacting life of gallant (feast, dancing), impoverish so he had to sell off his houses and lands. In 1612 he sold Bítov castle and he also lost his favourite castle Uherčice.

The name Jankovský of Vlašim came from the name of their estate Jankov of Benešov. Jan I. Jankovský of Vlašim came to Moravia as the first and he became a member of the regional court in 1405. Fridrich Jankovský of Vlašim was one of the mightiest Moravian noblemen after Battle of Bílá hora and co-writer of Moravian constitution (1628). He bought the Bítov estate and has built an economic space with far-famed brewery on the southern walls. His son Hynek (1635) – the imperial counsellor to the emperor Ferdinand III writes in Bítov castle the first Czech written hippologic publication Horse apothecary. During the double Sweden invasion he lends his subject for the ransom and saved the castle by rolling out countless barrels of beer. In 1638 he enlarged the castle chapel and he builds the castle palace with an arcade courtyard and a passable tower. He arranged a new entry to castle and build an entry bridge for it. He builds so-called Sweden chapel outside castle walls. After his death the castle comes to his son Maxmilian Arnošt I. (1653), however he became insane and so his wife Alzbeta administers the castle (1689). At the same time the south wing statics is repaired – the characteristic buttress of Bítov. Maximilian II. Jankovský of Vlašim (1689 – 1736) allies with clan Ditrichštejn and Daun in Vienna. As the close friend of Josef I. he is promoted to countship (1702). He married Kateřina from Lemberk, the heritress after the last of the clan Adam Zrinský. He brings the famous arms collection and the family library into the castle. After a tedious lawsuit the castle is at Marie Terezie's bidding (1755) handed over from Maximilian's daughter Marie Johana (1739) the countess Cavriani, to Maximilian František’s nephew the earl of Daun.

The Dauns belonged to the ancient clan originally from townlet Daun. It is said that the name Daun comes from Celtic „Dune“, which means a hill. The greatest social rise was at the time of the thirty years' war, when they were ennoblemented because of the military services (1655). The field-marshal and the imperial counsellor Vilém Jan Antonín Daun obtained the citizenship of Bohemia (1684), of Hungary and of Moravia. One of his sons Jindřich Josef (his wife was Marie Leopoldina, the daughter of Max, the earl of Vlašim) established the Austro - Moravian clan branch. The seat of this branch was Bítov as well. The construction works on the castle went on (1816). The fountain is erected on a place of well. The north wing with the castle kitchen is built (1811). The Dauns have built a theatre hall on the place of the granary (1816). On the northern side the Empire carriage house and the stabling is built (1821 -1822). Large garden and forest park improvement started (building-up the rotunda, the well, the lakelet of love). Frantisek's son Jindrich (1836 – 1890) expanded the castle church with the tomb (1845).The castle modified according to gothic movement (including the interiors). After his death, even against Jindřich's brothers Vladimír and Otakar protests, widow Antonie the countess of Voračice from Bissingen sold out the total equipment of the palace (1890). The next heirs are the Haugwitzs.

The Haugwitzs are an ancient, originally Slavonic clan that comes possibly from Míšeň; through the farm in Lužice (its name they adopted) they moved to the Silesia. They used the blazon with the black ram head on the red shield. They have been appearing in Moravia since the 14th century. In 1752 the Haugwitzs bought the estate Náměšť nad Oslavou (since the time it is the family estate). Right here they moved equipment from Bítov, including the ample arms collection. The best-known person of the clan has become Bedřich Vilém, the excellent statesman, the Czech and Austrian chancellor, the Marie Terezie's counsellor, the Golden Fleece prize-winner since 1759 and the enlightenment reformist.

Jan I. the earl Zamojski comes from the short Polish blue-blooded clan acting in Poland, Russia and Austria. He already bought Bítov from Haugwitzs for 3.000.000 crowns in 1906. He chose Bítov according to advice from his relatives Stadnicky family from the near Vranov. The Zamojski were a prominent Polish statesmen and chieftains. They have lived in Bítov for 2 years only, then František the prince Radziwill became owner of the castle.

The origin of the Radziwill princes is in Litva and they are the only prince clan in Bítov's history. Jiří as the cardinal, the bishop of Vilinuis and Krakov, was even elected to the gestatorial chair (1585). The next owner of Bítov in 1908 was the young prince František (1880 – 1967), the nephew of Jan Zamojski a well-known conservative politician and Polish aristocracy leader. In 1912 František sold Bítov to an Austrian industrialist baron Haas of Hasenfels (1841 - 1914).

The Haas family was a landowner family from the West Bohemia. August Eusebius inherited a porcelain factory in Slavkov nad Ohří. His son Jiří, the elder (1841 – 1914) graduated in chemistry in Viennese polytechnic school. He assumed father's porcelain factory and together with his cousin Jan Czjzek (1841 – 1925) they established the Haas and Czjzek company in 1867. Their company became the greatest producer of porcelain in all the Habsburg monarchy. In 1899 Jiří Haas was elevated to -von Hasenfels- for the trading credits to imperium. And even in 1908 he was given a baron title. He bought Bítov for his same named son who was the last private owner of the castle. (the stories about him go till today). It was an accident that our castle has been connected with the Haas family – they had noticed the insertion in a newspaper that was offering the Bítov estate! The Haas family was owner of west Bohemian farmhouses (the residence castle Mostov) and also the famous trade palace – the Haas house that is on the prestigious Kartnerstreet in Wienna.

There has been no actual expropriation of Bítov in 1945 (after the owner's passed away). Nevertheless the castle has been taken over into the state management and was made available to the public in 1949. This legal case has been solved as late as 1962 – 1963. The heirs were compensated according to the testament of the last owner of castle baron Haas. (the immediate heir was Belgian baron Evance III. Coppe).