Near Mělník, nearly within view of the confluence of the Vltava and Elbe rivers, there is the Rococo Hořín Chateau. Originally a hunting lodge, it is located in the village of Hořín and was built at the end of the 17th century at the request of Count Jakub Černín, designed by the architect G. B. Alliprandi. The paintings were done by the painter F. M. Schiffer and his brother Antonín. A riding hall and stables were added to the chateau in 1701.
The hunting lodge was not enough for another owner, František Josef Černín, so he had a Baroque chateau built in its place according to the project of F. M. Kaňka in 1713-1720.
The castle was rebuilt and expanded several times. Carlo Giuseppe Bossi decorated two so-called ‘Stone Rooms’ on the ground floor of the chateau with asymmetrical stucco in 1760-1763. The last construction changes occurred at the end of the 18th century when a low tympanum was built on the garden facade, and a stairway rebuilt inside the chateau.
The chateau is one of the most preserved buildings combining elements of Late Baroque with Early Rococo.
The chateau is currently not accessible to the public.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.