The chateau in Nové Hrady, a tiny town near Litomyšl, is one of the few typically Rococo heritage buildings in the Czech Republic. The building, constructed in 1774-1777, was designed in the style of French summer residences. It is thus often nicknamed Little Schönbrunn based on the palace in Vienna, or Czech Versailles based on the French royal chateau.
The former granary building in the chateau garden contains the First Czech Cycling Museum, featuring exhibits from the mid 19th century to the present. The ground floor is reserved for velocipedes from more than a century ago, including unique accessories such as original cycling maps, carbide and oil lamps. Do not miss the prizes from the earliest races organized in the Czech Lands.
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.