The Princely Stables
Horses as an aristocratic passion
Stables accommodating 50 horses were built right next to the chateau at the end of the 18th century. A century later, the capacity proving insufficient, Franz Joseph Prince of Auersperg (1856–1938) issued the order for the construction of modern stables, designed for one hundred carriage, hunting, race and sports horses.
The grounds include not only stables, but also summer and sick stalls, a saddle room, a harness room, kennels, staff rooms and a detached family house of Walter Earl (1846–1924), an English trainer of the Prince’s race horses. The construction was carried out by a Slatiňany native, the architect Jan Schmoranz (1857–1899), according to the design of the English firm WC&AS Manning.
In 1906, a garage was added for the newly purchased automobile of French car brand Brasier and later also for a Mercedes and several Tatra vehicles. Some already existing spaces were turned into exhibition halls for the Auersperg collection of hunting trophies from the princely hunting district and hunting expeditions in Africa; today, they can be found in the collections of the Náprstek’s museum and the Museum of Emil Holub.
Since 1945, the stables have been under the management of the National Stud Kladruby nad Labem, housing black Kladruber horses. In 1982, the former princely stables were used as a filming location of the Czech TV series Dobrá voda.