Lednice castle (Czech Republic)

Lednice settlement was first mentioned in the annals in 1222. Local nobles Adam and Lipert built a small fortress, that was supposed to protect the bridge over the Dija River. In historical documents, that mention this castle, from 1222 to 1414, the German name Eissgrube (Aisgrub) is found - "ice pit", "ice house". Since 1412 the castle has been called Lednice - the name is derived from the always cold water of the Dija river, that flows nearby. In 1249 the Czech king Václav I transferred a small fortress to the Austrian landlord Siegfried Sirotka. In 1332 the settlement passed into the ownership of the Lichtenstein family, who owned Lednice until the end of the Second World War. Back in the 16th century, during the reign of Chartman Lichtenstein, the medieval fortress was demolished and replaced by a Renaissance-style castle. At the same time, Lednice Castle was combined into one complex with the nearby Valtice Castle, which was bought by the Lichtensteins in 1395. During the Thirty Years' War (1618 – 1648), the castle suffered heavily from Swedish attacks. After the war, the Lichtensteins thoroughly reconstructed the entire complex - the destroyed buildings were carefully restored, and the complex itself acquired the appearance of a baroque residence. The reconstruction took place until 1730, the project was led by the famous architect Johan Bernard Fischer from Erlach, later by Domenico Martineli from Lucca - according to the project, only the wing of the castle, which housed the stables and the arena, remained unchanged. At the same time, a huge park appeared between them in the castle complex. In the second half of the 18th century the castle was reconstructed once again and in 1815 the side wings were removed. In 1837 Duke Aloise II inherited Lednice Castle. He spent a lot of time in England and saw, how the landlord community established itself in a society ruled by the bourgeoisie. At that time, neo-Gothic winds blew in the building. In 1848 Duke Lichtenstein decided to rebuild the Lednice residence in this style. After the 1846-1858 reconstruction, the castle acquired its current Tudor neo-Gothic look. The author of the project was the architect Georg Vilhelmiuler. He did not touch the baroque walls of the castle, but changed the decoration of the facades, supplementing them with various elements - balconies, arches, columns, turrets. Duke Aloysi II then decided, that Vienna was not suitable for summer gala celebrations and ordered Lednice to be adapted to the needs of a reception residence. This "adaptation" turned Lednice Castle, as it is often said now, into a "romantic Czech wonder" or "Czech Neo-Gothic gem". After World War II the Lichtensteins were forced to emigrate due to accusations of ties to the Nazi regime, and they took most of the castle's valuables with them, when they left. In 1945 the castle was nationalized and since then has been state property, managed by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic through the National Institute of Monuments.

Large and quite complex, a beautiful model, but not so complex, that it cannot be completed by an advanced beginner modeler under the supervision of a more experienced colleague.