Trip to Šternberk

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I wrote this article in two languages. In English language and in Slovak language.

Today's post will be about my trip to the Czech Republic. There will be more posts about this trip, but I'll tell you more about others next time.

I was lucky to attend several weddings in the Czech Republic. When we returned from one of them, we took a small trip. Following the narrow paths that undulated up and down, we slowly approached our destination. The team was the medieval castle Sternberk. The sun was shining and it was pleasantly warm. Ideal time for a trip. Possibly for a pleasant cooling between the castle walls.

We park in the parking lot under the castle hill and continue on foot. It is not far. The castle is located in the city and the parking lot is in the old part of town. In a few minutes we stand in front of the castle gate and buy a ticket. We are lucky. There is currently no one in the courtyard, I can photograph the castle in full beauty. This photo suitably complements the blue sky. A white cloud appears here and there.

We enter the castle and begin to get acquainted with the history of this castle.

Šternberk Castle was probably founded in the middle of the 13th century by Zdeslav of Chlumec. Originally a defensive castle, it was gradually rebuilt and expanded.This cylindrical tower has been preserved from the original castle.

The castle was, among other things, the seat of Bishop Albert II of Sternberg, a prominent church dignitary and diplomat. He had the castle chapel decorated.

At the castle we see various architectural elements from Gothic to Art Nouveau.

    

The castle did not escape the riots. He went through the Hutist wars or the Thirty Years' War. It was during it that the castle and the town suffered greatly.

Around 1699, the castle was bought by Prince Ján Adam Ondrej from Liechtenstein. The castle belonged to his family until 1945.

I must admit that I was most amazed at this here. I did not expect to see the Liechtenstein flag at the Czech castle.

In one of the rooms, period clothing attracted attention. That garment looks very good. I could imagine attending a historical ball in this outfit.

      

Our next stop is the monastery, which is located near the castle.

We bought two tickets and waited for the entrance in the hallway. The time of the show was approaching and it seemed that no one but us would come for the show. Just before the start, two more people came running and we could start.

The entrance gate was opened to us by a tall, poor gentleman, dressed in black pants and a dark shirt. His look and rough voice reminded me of Lurch of the Adams family.

We entered the first room. This is where the interpretation began. He told us about the history of the monastery and the town of Šternberk. His storytelling was extremely engaging. It was obvious that he did not memorize individual things, but that he really understood what he was saying. He said it in a casual tone, but he wouldn't enjoy it at all. But the opposite was true, because during the show he asked us about three questions about history. He tested us normally.

We thoroughly inspected one of the rooms after his explanation, when suddenly piano music began to play here in an otherwise quiet monastery. That's when we noticed that our guide wasn't with us. So we chose the sound. We found him in the next room, where there were a number of different musical instruments played by monks.

The most interesting room is the church itself and its decoration. I also show you photos of it. Even at this point, it was not a dry interpretation. He accompanied the interpretation by playing the organ.

It was obvious that he was enjoying it even though he didn't smile on the outside and didn't show his joy. It was the best accompaniment I've ever been to.

In the end, I have no choice but to thank you for this amazing experience.

Po Slovensky

Dnešný príspevok bude o mojom výlete v Českej republike. Mojich príspevkov o tejto ceste bude viac, ale o ďalších vám poviem nabudúce.

Mal som to šťastie, že som sa zúčastnil niekoľkých svadieb v Česku. Pri návrate z jednej z nich sme si spravili malý výlet. Po úzkych cestách, ktoré sa vlnili hore dole sme sa pomaly blížili k nášmu cieľu. Tým bol stredoveký hrad Šternberk. Slnko sievilo a bolo príjemne teplo. Ideálny čas na výlet. Možno aj na príjemné schladenie sa medzi hradnými múrmi.

Parkujeme na parkovisku pod hradným vrchom a ďalej už pokračujeme pešo. Nie je to ďaleko. Hrad sa nachádza v meste a aj parkovisko je v starej časti mesta. O niekoľko minút stojíme pred hradnou bránou a kupujeme si lístok. Máme šťastie. Na nádvorí sa momentálne nikto nenachádza ja môžem vyfotografovať hrad v plnej kráse. Túto fotografiu vhodne dopĺňa modrá obloha. Na nej sa sem tam objaví biely oblak.

Vchádzame do hradu a začíname sa zoznámovať s históriou tohoto hradu.

Hrad Šternberk pravdepodobne založil v polovici 13. storočia Zdeslav z Chlumce. Pôvodne obranný hrad bol postupne prestavovaný a rozšírený. Z pôvodného hradu sa zachovala táto valcovitá veža.

Hrad bol okrem iných sídlom biskupa Alberta II zo Šternberka, významného cirkevného hodnostára a diplomata. Ten dal vyzdobiť hradnú kaplnku.

Na hrade vidíme rôzne architektické prvky od gotiky až po secesiu.

      

Hradu sa nevyhli nepokoje. Prešiel si hutistkými vojnami či tridsať ročnou vojnou. Práve behom nej hrad a mesto riadne trpeli.

Okolo roku 1699 kúpil hrad knieža Ján Adam Ondrej z Lichtenštajska. Jeho rodu patril hrad až do roku 1945.

Musím sa priznať, že tomuto som sa tu čudoval najviac. Nečakal som, že na českom hrade uvidím Lichtenštajskú vlajku.

V jednej z miestností na upútalo dobové oblečenie. Ten odev vyzerá veľmi dobre. Vedel by si predstaviť, že sa v tomto oblečení zúčastním nejakého historického plesu.

    

Našou ďalšou zastávkou je kláštor, ktorý sa nachádza neďaleko hradu.

Kúpili sme si dva lístky a čakali sme na vstup v chodbe. Čas prehliadky sa blížil a vyzeralo to, že okrem nás na prejliadku nikto nepríde. Tesne pred začiatkom pribehli ešte dvaja ľudia a mohli sme začať.

Vstupnú bránu nám otvoril vysoký chudý pán, oblečený v čiernych nohaviciach a tmavej košely. Svojím výzorom a hrubým hlasom mi pripomínal Lurcha z Adams family.

Vstúpili sme do prvej miestnosti. Tu sa začal výklad. Rozprával nám o histórii kláštora a mesta Šternberk. Jeho rozprávanie bolo mimoriadne pútavé. Bolo vidno, že nemá jednotlivé veci naučené naspamäť, ale že tomu čo hovorí skutočne aj rozumie. Pritom to rozprával ležerným tónom, ale by ho to vôbec nebavilo. Opak bol ale pravdou, pretože počas prehliadky nám položil asi tri otázky čo sa týkalo histórie. Normálne nás skúšal.

Jednu z miestností sme si po jeho výklade dôkladne prezerali, keď tu zrazu začala hrať v inak tichom kláštore hudba z klavíra. Vtedy sme si všimli, že náš sprievodca s nami nie je. Vybrali sme sa teda za zvukom. Našli sme ho vo vedľajšej miestnosti v ktorej bolo množstvo rôznych hudobných nástrojov na ktorých hrali mnísi.

Najzaujímavejšou miestnosťou je samotný kostol a jeho výzdoba. Z neho vám aj ukazujem fotografie. Ani v tejto mietnosti to nebol suchý výklad. Výklad sprevádzal hraním na orgán.

Bolo vidno, že si to užíva aj keď navonok sa ani raz neusmial a nedal svoju radosť najavo. Bolo to najlepšie sprevádzanie na akom som kedy bol.

Na záver mi neostáva povedať nič iné ako ďakujem za tento úžasný zážitok.

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