Velké Losiny

Built from 1581–1589 on the site of an earlier Gothic fortress by Jan the Younger of Zierotin, the château and its estates remained in the possession of the ancient Moravian dynasty of House of Zierotin for more than 300 years.[2] The château consists of three wings overlooking the courtyard with three floors of arcade galleries and is crowned by a narrow octagonal tower. Although Jan was infamous for his ruthlessness towards his subjects, bullying them into working using methods that were exceptionally cruel even for those days, his descendant Přemek II was worse; in 1662 he had the three ringleaders of a peasant rebellion beheaded.[2] At the turn of the 18th century the Renaissance buildings were extended with a further three, also arcaded, Baroque-style wings, to which were added a Baroque-style garden featuring romantic little structures and statues.

At the end of the 18th century the Zierotins fell into debt and began selling their estates. In 1802 they had to sell the family seat in Velké Losiny to the Princely Family of Liechtenstein, in whose possession it remained until 1945.

According to unfounded reports the Austrian poet Franz Grillparzer stayed in the château in the 19th century; he was supposed to have based his tragedy The Matriarch on the sad romantic story of the ghostly Zierotin protectoress.[2] The château interiors are among the most remarkable Renaissance spaces in the Czech Republic and most beautiful of all is the banqueting hall with panelled ceiling. The picture gallery houses an outstanding collection of Italian, Dutch and Flemish paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. The Zierotin armoury contains a collection of pistols and guns made by master gunsmiths at home and abroad from the 17–19th centuries.

Velké Losiny is a minor spa municipality. Earlier records of its sulphur springs with temperatures ranging from 22–30 °C, date back to 1576. The spa itself was first mentioned in 1592; sulphuric water being brought from the marshlands to the baths established at that time. The spa buildings are today situated within a park, which, created in 1861, contains rare trees, rhododendrons and azaleas. The spa specialises in treating mobility disorders and neurological and skin diseases.[3]

Paper mill at Velké Losiny

The distinguishing feature of the municipality is an old paper mill in which paper was handmade. Housed in a Renaissance building, several storeys high, it was established by the Zierotins in the 1590s,[4] but only produced real wealth in the second half of the 19th century. The much sought-after paper has been used by the central European nobility and governments for centuries. Not only it is the oldest paper factory in Central Europe, but it has also been in continuous operation since it was founded.

Paper is still made in the traditional way, namely by hand. The pulp is placed on pumping nets, soaked in animal solution and dried with warm air in the attic drying rooms. The high quality paper, still bearing the family's coat of arms on its watermark, is used for important state and personal correspondence, international contracts and for printing valuable handwritten facsimiles and collectors' items.

Today the factory houses a museum. The only one of its kind in the Czech Republic, it presents the history of paper-making from the use of the old traditional techniques right up to the deployment of modern industrial technologies.