What originally started as small baroque castle is now one of the largest country residences in North Bohemia region.
From baroque house to princely residence
It was the Lamotte of Frintropp family that built the first aristocratic residence on the site of a former hill-fort. The baroque castle consisted of one three storey wing with a tower on south end and additional one storey service buildings on the west side. The family resided in this manor for five decades but later sold it to Wallenstein family who had their residence elsewhere. For 80 years the building stood neglected and mostly uninhabited.
The situation changed in August 1820 when the estate was purchased by Prince Charles Alain Gabriel de Rohan who immediately started late Neo-Classical transformation of the baroque core. The main wing (East Wing) was prolonged on both ends and the crumbling tower dismantled completely. The service buildings were enlarged and got additional storey to form new wings (South Wing and North Wing) and new West Wing was built to enclose the courtyard. On both ends of the West Wing two more wings were built, the L-shaped Bertha's Wing on the south end and simple wing with a large gallery/theater space on the north end. Together with two stable buildings and a rectory the Gallery, The West Wing and Bertha's wing created a formal cour d'honneur enclosed on three sides.
Neo-Gothic transformation
The second owner, Charles' nephew Prince Camille Phillip Joseph de Rohan, started another transformation and refurbishment of the castle in 1847. All of the facades were given a gothic-revival apearance, towers (Breton and Austrian Towers) were added on both ends of the East Wing and new open staircase replaced the old one on the garden side. Stone and wooden embelishments were given a particular importance in creating a fairy-tale-like medieval castle fantasy.
A particular attention went to creanting the interiors. The decor of both representative and private rooms was carefully thought through in order to reflect the importance and rich history of Prince Camille's family. Emblems from the family crest embelished most of the surfaces, wainscoting, coffered ceilings and furniture. Most of the changes were designed by architect Joseph Pruvot and personally approved and in some cases altered by Prince Camille himself. The owner and the architect worked closely together to bring Camille's ideas to fruition.
Modern aristocratic residence
When Prince Camille passed away in 1892 the castle immediately underwent another transformation. Formal living spaces were turned into welcoming family rooms, the Royal Appartment that once hosted various members of european royal families was turned into nursery rooms and electricity was installed under the supervision of Camille's heir and grand-nephew Alain Arthur Benjamin de Rohan who resided at Sychrov till his death in 1914.
His son and heir Alain took hold of his late father's estate in 1917 and when he married in 1921 his wife Margarethe did not much care for Neo-Gothic decor. Therefore some of the rooms lost their original appearance. Neo-Gothic furniture was replaced by less grand but more comfortable pieces and rather dark rooms were transformed into lighter and more welcoming ones. The house however lost the carefully and well-thought of appearance. Similar procedure were undertaken with the facades.
Despite these sometimes drastic changes and alterations the castle is still one of the best examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Bohemia.
