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Château Červená Lhota
Žďákov Bridge

 

Château Červená Lhota

Červená Lhota is a château situated about 20 km north-west of Jindřichův Hradec in south Bohemia, Czech Republic. It stands at the middle of a lake on a rocky island.

Červená Lhota, southern view

The four-winged two-storey château, with a small courtyard in the center, occupies the whole rock and juts into the fishpond. A stone bridge links the château with the banks of the pond.

The existence of an original gothic fortress on the site of today's château is assumed from sometime around the middle of the 14th century. It was built on a rocky granite outcrop, which, after the damming of a stream, became an island. The original gothic fortress has been in 1530 remodeled to more comfortable renaissance château acquiring the name Nová Lhota.

Present name Červená Lhota is known from the beginning of 17th century according to that time newly applied red color of its facade and bright-red roof tiles (“červená” means red in Czech language). This external appearance and name is kept up to present days.

Chateau passed various architectural styles. In the middle of 19th century it has been remodeled to Neo-Gothic style, however in the beginning of 20th century it has been rebuilt back to historical and more sensitive building of picturesque Neo-Renaissance style according to project of architect Humbert Walcher von Moltheim.
The most famous owners of the chateau are probably members of four consequent generations of aristocratic family of Prince Schönburg-Hartenstein. They owned the château till its confiscation in 1945, when the château was granted to a National Culture Commission and since 1949 is opened to the public like the popular destination of thousands of tourists every year, partially thanks to few Czech film and TV fairy-tail stories being filmed in the chateau interior and surroundings. The interiors have an extensive collection of historic furniture, tiled stoves, pictures, porcelain and other items.

Červená Lhota, view from north-east

Fishpond of dimensions about 160x200 meters surrounded by wall of thick and tall forest does not propose ideal conditions for glider-flying. Launch and landing appeared at the narrow meadow situated on the southern edge of the fishpond.

Original photos of resolution 8Mpx are published on server Panoramio in reduced resolution.

View from south-east

View from south-east
 View from east  View from north-west
 View from north-west  View from north
View from north-east View from east
View from east View from south-east

Location of taken snapshots


Žďákov Bridge

During the jorney home, I used the opportunity to fly shortly above famous Žďákov Bridge, named after the nearby village Žďákov, previously situated close to the bridge and flooded during the construction of the Orlík Dam.

This steel bridge unique in its construction is the eighth longest one-arch bridge in the world and the longest upper bridge-deck construction at all. The total length of the bridge is 543 m, including approach spans. The main steel arch of weight 3100 tons and span 379,6 m supports double-lane roadway crossing the valley in height of 50 meters above level of river Vltava, 110 meters above valley floor.

Like a landing runway, just bridge roadway was used in the moment of no traffic. Unfortunately, after 2 minutes of flight the recording has been aborted. Either battery became weak or (more probably) I have unwittingly activated the remote toggle switch for start/stop of recording during flight control.

Žďákovský most

Therefore just two nice snapshots is all what left from that amazing flight of duration about 20-minutes flown during cold windless sunny morning 17th August 2013.

View from south-east

View across the valley to the west

Location of taken snapshots

 

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