Waltsch: Baroque Cultural Landscape and Valeč Castle

Waltsch between the Castle, Park and Cultural Landscape

Waltsch combines Baroque architecture, a freely accessible castle park and a protected cultural landscape. At its heart is Valeč Castle, which was remodelled in the Baroque period by F. Barelli and G. A. Biana Rossa. Valečsko is a protected cultural landscape surrounding the Baroque town of Valeč; the castle and two churches are its defining features. For your travel planning, this makes it a destination where architecture, sculpture, garden art and a historic route can be explored together.

Castle Park and Stations of the Cross

Valeč Castle Park is freely accessible year-round from sunrise to sunset. It is decorated with sculptures from the workshop of Matyáš Bernard Braun, depicting allegories of qualities and figures from Greek mythology. The park also includes a Baroque water system with cascades, fountains, ponds, irrigation facilities and an almost three-kilometre-long water pipeline. The almost three-kilometre-long water pipeline complements the visible cascades, fountains and ponds with the technical side of the Baroque garden complex.

The newly restored Stations of the Cross in Valeč begin directly behind Valeč, at a bend in the road from the castle church to the Most Holy Trinity, in the direction of Vrbice. Along the road, the route passes a larger group of chapels; afterwards, they continue on the left across a meadow above the overgrown slope. Behind the fourteenth station is a group depicting the Crucifixion, from which there is a wide view over the whole of Valeč. The Stations of the Cross in Valeč led from the castle church to the Most Holy Trinity and continued to Calvary.

Churches, Sculptures and Historic Performance Venues

The parish church of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist in Valeč was founded in the mid-13th century. The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in the cemetery was built in 1751 in the Late Baroque style. A tour of the interior of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Valeč includes explanations of the burial traditions of the Lords of Valeč. The Trinity Column was designed by the architect František Maxmilián Kaňka and produced in the workshop of the sculptor Matyáš Bernard Braun. Parking is available at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Valeč.

The Valeč Lapidarium presents 28 original Baroque sculptures and sculptural groups that once adorned the castle terraces and gardens. In the lapidarium, visitors encounter the sculptures not only as individual originals but also as groups that once shaped the castle terraces and gardens together. A sophisticated light and sound presentation allows visitors to experience the sculptures in different atmospheres. The Theatron of Valeč was intended for open-air theatre and music performances. An independent visit to Valeč Castle takes you through centuries of splendour, destruction and reconstruction, while also offering an experience of the Baroque sculptures in a new light.

More Places for Your Travel Planning

If you would like to consider further destinations in addition to Waltsch, you can also find Bečov nad Teplou, Sodau, Donawitz, Ottowitz, Bärringen, Sankt Joachimsthal, Lichtenstadt and Sichlau.

For the higher-level travel overview: Karlovy Vary District.