We are able to give small grants to a variety of projects and welcome applications from owners of historic buildings, gardens and parks in the Czech Republic. These can be privately owned or owned by the State or municipality. Please tell us about the cultural, historical and educational importance of your property, and the extent of public access. Outline what funds you need and what you would wish to do with the help or money. Grants are given subject to certain conditions, which we can forwarded by request. Email: grants@czechfriends.net

WORK IN PROGRESS

See also 'Our Project at Uherčice'

Nové Město nad Metují in Moravia: Restoration of the Château Gardens
We are giving a small grant to help with the extensive works being carried out on these gardens, originally designed by Dušan Jurkovic between the years 1911 and 1912 for the owner Josef Barton-Dobenin. The garden area is formally dividend into two areas. The upper area, which is closest to the castle building, is separated into the terraces with rose flower beds and white wooden fences.  The middle part of the formal garden is edged with box on the outside of the grassy area, and in the middle with hornbean hedges and pathways. A Baroque-style fountain fulfills the decorative function together with a parade of stone sculptures called 'The Dwarf Cabinet'. Those sculptures and the ones in the front of the main entrance to the castle are the work of a Baroque sculptor Mathyas Bernard Braun, created at the beginning of the eighteenth century.  When the castle and gardens were returned to the previous owner's grandson, Josef Barton-Dobenin, they were in an extremely neglected condition but a programme of restoration is well underway. Photo by Vladimír Toncar  www.toncar.cz

The Château of Děčín, North Bohemia
(owned by the town of Děčín)
Grant towards the restoration of a portrait of Princess Royal, Maria of Habsburg, future consort of Ferdinand III, thought to be by a follower of Velasquez,  £1500 (Total cost circa £4000)

The château of Děčín stands in a magnificently dramatic position, high on a rock above the river Labe. In the 17th century the château came into the possession of the Thun-Hohenstein family who owned it until 1932.  Chopin was a guest here in 1835 and Děčín inspired his Waltz in A major, Op.34, No 1, called Děčín.  In 1932 Count Thun was compelled to sell the château for financial reasons to the Czechoslovak state, which converted it into barracks. From the late 1930’s this huge Baroque edifice was occupied firstly by the Czech army, then the Germans, and finally from 1948-91 by the Soviets. By then the fabric had deteriorated pitiably. However after the departure of the Russians, the town of Děčín acquired the building and has bravely undertaken the slow and vast task of restoration, which is proceeding with great success. Many rooms are now open to the public but they lack most of the original contents. The Thun-Hohensteins made an important collection of paintings that remain largely in store. It would be very desirable to see them hang once again on the château walls where they belong. The curators have chosen a very fine and important portrait of the Princess Royal, Maria of Habsburg, future wife of Emperor Ferdinand III, for restoration. This is one of the earliest portraits to enter the Thun collection. In the inventories it is first mentioned in 1653 but is thought to have arrived earlier. The first member of the Thun-Hohenstein family who settled at Děčín, Christoph Simon, (died in 1635), was a courtier to Prince, later Emperor Ferdinand III.

RECENTLY COMPLETED WORK

Château of Lysice, South Moravia - Restoration of the 18th century statue of Apollo:  £2000 The Apollo is one of four 18th century statues that grace the entrance to the Baroque castle, all in need of conservation. Its restoration has been successfully completed.

SOME OF OUR COMPLETED WORK

High Altar painting and associated statuary in the Abbey Church of Žd’ár nad Sázavou, Moravia  HeadleyTrust Grant £20,000. Completed in 2010.

In November 2008 we appealed to the Headley Trust for funds to support the restoration of the magnificent High Altar painting of the Assumption of the Virgin and the smaller painting above of the Trinity (see image, left), both by the important Baroque artist, Michael Leopold Willman (1630-1706), together with the splendid associated statuary by Řehoř Theny (1695-1759). In March 2009 we learnt that our appeal was successful and the Headley Trust generously donated £20,000 towards the restoration.  The Altar painting and associated sculptures were subjected to extensive scientific analysis by the conservator prior to restoration. Images of the high altar above and a detail of the painting above the Trinity, below right.

Portrait, thought to be of Thomas Vinciguerra Collalto et San Salvatore (1710-69)
Completed in early 2011
The Friends gave £2000 towards the cost of restoration.
Image, immediate right

The Collaltos were one of the oldest aristocratic families of Northern Italy, who had come over to the Czech lands as mercenaries in the Thirty Years War. They came to own large estates in Moravia, with their main Moravian seat at Brtnice (currently in decay). Uherčice was their country seat. Thomas Vinciguerra Collalto was a lover of art and music and in October 1762 hosted in his palace in Vienna the six-year-old Mozart’s first public performance. For years the collection of family portraits from Uherčice has been in store and their gradual restoration and return to the house is important in reuniting both house and the family who owned it until confiscation in 1945.

Award Ceremony at Červený Dvůr on September 3rd 2010
The Award was presented to our former chairman Ian Kennaway on the day of a reunion of former patients of the hospital, which has helped them to recover from alcoholism. The reward was in recognition of the help that the Friends gave in procuring a grant from the Headley Trust towards the restoration of the murals in the Breakfast Room of this historic house and towards the restoration of most of the Pheasantry, which lies in the magnificent park, (see photo, above).

Dr Jiří Dvořáček, the director of Červený Dvůr, the Czech National Heritage Institute and the Friends' Committee are extremely grateful to the Headley Trust for their generosity in supporting these two projects.

Restoration of the eighteenth-century Rococo Garden Arbour from the gardens of Český Krumlov
Completed Spring 2010

WE ARE DELIGHTED to report that the Friends’ offer of a grant of £1000/ €1100 towards the restoration of the Rococo garden arbour at Český Krumlov acted as a catalyst which enabled the South Bohemian Institute of Historic Monuments to obtain funding of the further £3000/ €3300 needed to complete  the restoration.The restoration of the garden arbour is part of a long-term programme for the restoration of the important castle gardens. The great castle of Český Krumlov was once part of the huge Schwarzenberg estates in South Bohemia. The château gardens were originally laid out in the late seventeenth century as a series of Baroque terraces, which were modified in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many eighteenth-century features survive, such as the charming Garden Arbour, which once stood in the centre of a maze, and is thought to have been a Music Pavilion. It was painted in 1752 with allegories of the Four Seasons by the local court artist, Jacub František Prokyš (1713-91). Prokyš had a fascinating career. Originally a serf, he was recommended to Joseph Adam Eggenberg (1722-82), a lover of the arts, who was responsible for a huge building programme at Český Krumlov. Prokyš was one of the many artists who worked at his court, and was eventually released from serfdom and went on to become a wealthy citizen of České Budějovice.