Horní Beřkovice Castle combines Baroque architectural history, an extensive park and several commemorative sites with later cultural uses. Count Adam František Hartig had the castle built between 1738 and 1756. A psychiatric institution was established there in 1890.
Culture and History
The history of Beškov also goes back a long way: in 1684, the medieval fortress was converted into a Baroque castle by Kryštof Ferdinand ze Scheidleru. Klementina Kalašová was born on 9 September 1850 in the former Baroque castle in Horní Beřkovice. Her artistic career began with piano studies under Bedřich Smetana in Prague; in 1869, she achieved her first major success at the Imperial Opera in Saint Petersburg.
Park and Commemorative Sites
The castle complex includes an extensive park, which was designed in the English style at the beginning of the 19th century. In the park of Horní Beřkovice Castle stands the cenotaph of Antoinetta Hartigová, created between 1790 and 1792 by František Xaver Lederer. The tomb of Antoinette Hartigová is also located in the northern part of the castle park.
A fountain stands in the castle’s courtyard of honour, while a statue of Hygieia stands in front of the northwestern façade. Above the present-day fire station, the former main gate of the castle, now bricked up, is still visible in the perimeter wall.
Church and Local History
The Horní Beřkovice Multifunctional Centre is located in the renovated Art Nouveau Church of St. Wenceslas on the grounds of the Psychiatric Clinic in Horní Beřkovice. The Church of St. Wenceslas was consecrated in 1942. During the occupation, an altar from Prague’s Straka Academy was brought there to protect it from destruction.
Several landmarks in the village preserve historical events. The White Cross at the edge of Horní Beřkovice in the direction of Mělník is an iron cross erected in 1855. It commemorates the rescue of Emperor Franz Joseph I after his carriage horses bolted. Another iron cross near the chapel at the lower gate of the Psychiatric Clinic was erected in 1853 in gratitude for the recovery of Luis, the son of Count František Desfours-Walde Rode. Traditionally, the pilgrimage from Horní Beřkovice was held in early July to commemorate the burning of Jan Hus.
Surroundings and Routes
In the surrounding Podřipsko area, Mount Říp and the Rotunda of St. George on its summit are considered the most visited site in the entire region. Horní Beřkovice also has local, as yet unofficial cycling routes through easy terrain that is suitable for families with children.
Practical Information
There is a central car park with 60 spaces on the grounds of the Psychiatric Clinic.
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