From the History of JeviŠovice and the Old Castle

The town Jevišovice is situated in the South part the Czech-Moravian Hinglands 16 km from Znojmo. It was first mentioned in 1289. The landmark of the town is the former noble mansion, the so called Old Castle on the rocky headland on the right side of the Jevišovka river. The castle dates back to the end of the 15th century when it replaced an older fortress from the 13th century. Its famous owner was the knight Hynek of Kunštát, called "Dry Devil", a crabbed enemy of the emperor Sigismond and Albrecht of Austria.
In the 1420s Jevišovice was one of bastions of the Hussitism in South-East Moravia. After its defeat the castle was pulled down. Historical events of that time are commemorated by a modern memorial in chalice form on the Žalov hill.
Before World War I, Jaroslav Palliardi and František Vildomec discovered an eneolithic settlement under the rock below the primitive fortress. The culture of the people who lived there thousands of years ago is called the "Jevišovice culture".
In the Middle Ages the Old Castle was a part of the medieval town and its fortification. Its gothic face was changed at the end of the 16th century when it was turned into a Renaissance Chateau with a courtyard and arcades. It suffered a lot during the 30 year war but in 1686 its new owner, the French Huguenot Louis Raduit de Souches, the famous defender of Brno against the Swedes, had it repaired in the baroque style. This appearance of the castle is in principle preserved until today.
Since the middle of the 18th century the castle changed its owner several times. At the end of the 19th century the former hunting country-house at the edge of the town was remodelled into a comfortable residence in neo-gothic style. This New Castle in an English park, however, is not open to the public. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the gentry stopped living in the Old Castle. In the following years it was used for farming purposes, in 1945 it was confiscated and was taken into the hands of the town. For 20 years it underwent a deep renovation and in 1980 it was adapted for the needs of the Moravian Museum that is in charge of the Castle until today. Its interiors house archaeological, ethnographic, historical, and literary collections as well as a worthy collection of historical musical instruments; parts of the collections are open to the public.
Jevišovice itself was always a Czech town with various crafts and associations. Its historical centre with buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries, numerous statues and the St.Joseph-Church from 1830 are worth seeing. The dam constructed near Jevišovice between 1894 and 1897 to prevent floods is one of the oldest in Middle Europe.

Address:
Jevišovice, district Znojmo
Phone: +420-515-231141

Opening hours, ticket prices

Due to the renovation of the building, only the courtyard and the exhibition of Rock paintings can be visited.

Permanent exhibition:

1. History of the Jevišovice region
   The idea to use the Old Castle for exhibition purposes led to the installation of the permanent exhibition on the history of Jevišovice and its surroundings. The entrance hall introduces the visitor to the history of the Old Castle and documents its renovation. The first part of the exhibition deals with the prehistory of the Jevišovice region and shows rich findings from the Neolithic and Eneolithic. Two outstanding archaeologists - Jaroslav Palliardi and František Vildomec - are presented together with their contribution to the knowledge of Neolithic and Eneolithic cultures in Middle Europe. The presentation of the medieval period stresses Hussitism and the active role of Jevišovice in this movement. Many exhibits show the high level of local crafts and bear witness to the social situation of the inhabitants. The last part of the exhibition focuses on new trends in farming and agriculture applied in the manor of Jevišovice. The national movement and the creation of associations since the 1870s are mentioned as well. The exhibition closes with the end of the first Czechoslovak Republic in 1938.
   
   
   
   
2. Store-room of folk furniture open to the public
   The collection of folk furniture preserved in the Ethnographic Institute of the Moravian Museum and shown in the Old Castle is one of the most extensive and important in the Czech Lands. It has been accumulated since the end of the 19th century. It documents the furnishing of village houses in the 19th and 20th centuries. The collection is organised according to the regions: South Moravia - painted chests and banks, West Moravia and Bohemia - painted cupboards and wardrobes, carved chairs, Austrian and German regions - painted and carved furniture.
   
   
   
   
3. Store-room of historical music instruments open to the public
   The department of History of Music (part of the Moravian Museum) has in its collections 40 keyboard instruments. Most of them are situated in the Old Castle in Jevišovice and can be seen in the open storage. The collection contains both stringed keyboard instruments (pianos and their predecessors) and pneumatic ones (organs, harmoniums). The piano used by Janáček's teacher Pavel Křížkovský is also on display. Under curiosities you can find two small travel pianos with a toiletries drawer used by girls from rich noble families. The collection on show also contains instruments that do not belong to any of above mentioned categories. One of them, the so called terpodium discovered 1816 by J.D. Buschmann is moved mechanically like a sewing machine. The other is a combination of an organ and a piano, called a claviorganum and dating from the beginning of the 19th century.
   
   
   
   
4. Rock paintings
   The exhibition draws from the rich collection of rock art preserved in the Anthropos Institute of the Moravian Museum and gathered during the last four decades of the 20th century as a result of Prof. Jelínek's expeditions.
   The exhibition is divided into three parts:
   
   • cave paintings by Upper Palaeolithic hunters (Lascaux, Altamira)
   • rock paintings and engravings from Central Sahara (Fezzan in Libya and Tassili in Algeria)
   • rock paintings from North Australia (the members of the expedition could meet the authors of the art works and get to know both the technique and the mythology connected with the paintings)
   The exhibition shows the replicas of 30 rock paintings and engravings

How to get to Jevišovice?

The shortest way from Brno to Jevišovice: take E 54 road to Znojmo, then turn right to Přímětice, Hluboké Mašůvky and Jevišovice.

Map of the surroundings of Jevisovice

E-travel.cz - guide to Prague and the Czech Republic

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