Hraniční zámeček
Castle · Czechia
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Built by the Liechtensteins in the 1820s directly on the border between Moravia and Lower Austria, one half of this classicist château stood in each country. Its restaurant, Essens, won a Michelin star in December 2025.
The Včelínek stream once ran straight through the building's central hall, marking the frontier itself, before it was later diverted. Jan I Josef of Liechtenstein commissioned the château between 1816 and 1827 as a garden pavilion on the shore of Hlohovecký Pond, its three linked pavilions and Tuscan-columned loggia designed as a backdrop within the landscape rather than a residence to live in. Stone for the build came from quarries at Archlebov and the whole project cost some 70,573 gold florins. After 1945 the confiscated building served for a time as an ornithological station, and a small 1937 bunker stood beside it until its removal in 2007. A 1995 renovation returned the château to use, and it now operates as a hotel and restaurant.
What you see
Three single-story pavilions link along the pond shore, the centre one fronted by three glazed, half-round arcades under a Tuscan-columned loggia.
Practical
The restaurant is open Wednesday to Saturday, 6pm to 11pm, closed Sunday to Tuesday, and not recommended for children under six.
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