In the usually inaccessible castle in Liberec, there will be tours, concerts, and an open-air cinema

Liberec - The inaccessible 16th-century castle in the upper center of Liberec will come to life from this evening. Until the end of August, it will attract visitors with guided tours, concerts, and an outdoor cinema. The program inside the castle and in the adjacent garden will take place on nineteen summer days, said Michael Dufek, director of the city’s contributory organization Kontakt, which organizes the program at the castle, to journalists today.

One of the oldest buildings in the hundred-thousand-person city is typically inaccessible and the only public event held there in recent years has been the week-long international animated film festival Anifilm. Liberec will make this landmark accessible to the public for the summer as it becomes its new owner. The city will purchase the complex, which covers an area of 1.2 hectares, from a private owner for 81 million crowns, and the representatives of the city will officially sign the purchase agreement with him at the beginning of August.

The summer program at the castle begins this evening in the garden with the screening of the film "Aristokratka ve varu", and the outdoor cinema will screen movies for three more Thursdays. The first guided tours of the castle and self-guided climbs to the tower will take place on Saturday. In the following weeks, they will be held every Tuesday and Saturday from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM. At that time, there will also be a program on the stairs in front of the castle. It will feature cultural performances by local artists, with over 60 of them participating.

"We are trying to make the program suitable for everyone across generations. So there will be programs for seniors as well as young people, as we have performances that include brass bands and electronic music," said Marie Matějíčková, deputy director of Kontakt.

Every Saturday until the end of August, there will also be a concert in the castle chapel at 5:00 PM. "There we chose rather classical music to fit the venue. So there will be historical music, string quartets, madrigals, and arias," added Matějíčková.

The outdoor program at the castle is free, as are the concerts in the chapel. Climbing the tower costs 20 crowns, a guided tour of the castle is 70 crowns for adults, 40 crowns for children or seniors, and family admission is 100 crowns. "The capacity is limited. A guided tour of the castle can accommodate 20 people, while the tower can hold 15 people," said Zuzana Kotrmanová, head of the tourism department in Liberec. Tickets can be purchased online at www.evstupenka.cz or at the reception of Palác Liebieg, which is located next to the castle. Tower climbs will be scheduled at half-hour intervals.