The Slatiňany stud farm

20th century 

The famous stud farm in Slatiňany is a place of breeding of the Kladruber black horses and today it is a part of the Kladruby stud farm, listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The history of the castle dates back to the 14th century, but the Auersperger family contributed most to its modern appearance and the establishment of the stud farm in the 19th century. A unique museum, where you can see an exposition on the history of horse breeding, is also part of the complex.

 

In the grounds of the beautiful English garden there is a breeding and training centre for the breeding of a unique Czech breed of horses, the so-called Kladruber black horses. Although originally the chateau and stud farm did not serve for breeding horses, today it is the main place of horse breeding with three stables of pedigree mares and one stable of pedigree stallions. The chateau itself has a long history dating back to the 14th century, when it was first mentioned as a fortress in the possession of Zbyněk Otháj of Slatiňany. But its current form reflects a much younger history. Thanks to the Austrian Auersperger family, who acquired the castle and the surrounding land in the 19th century, today's English-style park and a set of stables originally used by the count for breeding and training racehorses were built on the grounds. Completed in 1898, these stables soon became famous in the racing world and were known as the Earlstall Stables after the racing driver Walter Earl, who helped Count Auersperger breed and train horses there. The Auerspergers lost their Slatiňany estate definitively after the Second World War and it became the property of the Czechoslovak state in 1945. It seemed that the horses would leave Slatiňany together with the Auerspergers. In the end, it did not happen thanks to an important Czech zoologist and horse breeding expert, professor František Bílek, who found a new use for Slatiňany. At his instigation, a research station for horse breeding was established here after the war, to which professor Bílek moved the then already endangered and almost lost traditional Czech breed of Kladruber black horses. He started breeding them here, restored the breed and thanks to him the Kladruber black horses are still bred here today. A publicly accessible hippology museum, which is unique in Europe in its focus and collection of exhibits, is also part of the complex. Since 1992, the stud farm in Slatiňany has become part of the Kladruby stud farm, it is on the list of National Cultural Heritage and also on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

 

References

50 let hřebčína Slatiňany 1945-1995. Kladruby nad Labem 1995.

GREGOR, D., VÍTEK, M.: Národní hřebčín Kladruby nad Labem. Opava 2012

PECHEROVÁ, K.: Liverpoolský triumf Karla knížete. Kladruby nad Labem 2018, s. 168

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