The invention of the daguerreotype is generally considered to be the birth of photography. The Kynžvart daguerreotype, listed as a UNESCO “Memory of the World”, is a rarity in this respect. It is one of the rarest photographs in the world depicting still life with the motif of an artist’s studio.

It is the work of the inventor himself, Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, dedicated to Prince Metternich, who handwrote a note on the back about the importance of this gift. The inventor worked for 23 years on researching this method. He used a metal plate with a thin layer of silver to create the daguerreotype using chemicals. The photographer exposed the plate in a camera obscura, a precursor to the camera. The next step was then to make the image visible and steady it.

Kynžvart Castle, where a new exhibition is being prepared for the daguerreotype, is also worth a visit for its extensive collection of relics and objects from all over the world from Prince Metternich’s famous friends, including an Egyptological collection with mummies, a cabinet of curiosities and an exhibition of weapons and prints.

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Soos National Nature Reserve

Bubbling mofets, salt fields, diatomaceous earth, gas vents. Near Františkovy Lázně there is a landscape that does not ...

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Autumn. The sun is fading, we are starting to huddle in warm coats and nature is literally making magic. Some love it, others hate it. Who would also be excited about the drizzle?! But when the clouds part and the true Indian summer reigns, you will surely agree with us that there is no more beautiful sight than the autumn landscape that plays with all its colours. And what’s more, when you look at these magical sceneries from above!