Jaroměřice

The castle at Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou was constructed in the Middle Ages as a fortress. At the end of the 16th century, it was converted into a renaissance castle, losing its original shape. At the beginning of the 18th century, the noble family Questenberg from Thüringen carried out another reconstruction, upon which the castle shone with baroque grandeur. It is assumed that the designs for the central construction of the castle church, with its cupola and slanting towers, were prepared by Jakob Prandtauer. He was one of the great baroque master builders of Austria, who became famous with the construction of the monastery at Melk.

From the many properties of the noble family Questenberg, scion Johann Adam chose the castle at Jaroměřice as his seat. Here he wanted to create a residence that would allow him to enjoy his love for music and theatre. He experienced a close relationship to the performing arts in his youth, which he then cemented by pursuing an education in the field. At the beginning the emphasis was on the performance of instrumental music.

Later he turned his attention to grand musical dramaturgy. It was his desire to bring court culture to the local population by means of the opera. Thus he also installed himself as a musician, singer, or dancer in performances.

The castle is considered to be one of the outstanding Moravian works of construction as well as one of the most important music centres in Bohemia in the 18th century.