Sala Terrena a Grotto

In 2025, the restoration of the historic Sala Terrena building was completed.

Sala Terrena is one of the most beautiful structures in the château park in Liteň and is among the six listed heritage buildings within the château grounds. Owing to its form and its position on the western edge of the park, it functions as a natural gateway to the château park.

Sala Terrena was built in the early 19th century in the late Baroque style. It consists of three interconnected pavilions – a larger central one flanked by two smaller ones – all crowned with elegant mansard roofs. The main pavilion, with three wide entrances, opens toward the park, once offering a pleasant place to sit in the shade with views of the surrounding greenery. The rear side of the building forms part of the park’s enclosing wall.

Only fragments of the original rich decoration have survived, including portions of plasterwork and remnants of a fresco depicting a fountain. The building was significantly affected by the passage of time, vandalism, and inappropriate maintenance during the former regime.

The reconstruction included a complete renewal of the roof, repairs to both exterior and interior surfaces, restoration of the staircase, and repair and completion of the floor mosaics. Of particular importance was the conservation of the surviving illusionistic fresco. The project was supported by the ERSTE Private Banking Foundation, and the overall reconstruction of the historic building was also supported by the Central Bohemian Region.

The reconstructed Sala Terrena at its concert premiere in the summer of 2025.

Sala Terrena will now serve as a venue for cultural events. Thanks to its natural acoustics and its excellent location on the edge of the château park, it has become an attractive setting for intimate open-air concerts. It will also continue to be used for art workshops, ZUŠ Open gatherings, and other events. The newly restored Sala Terrena was first used as the venue for the ceremonial open-air concert A Summer Night of World Arias and Songs, marking the conclusion of the Interpretation and Vocal Courses of the Jarmila Novotná Festival.

During the restoration, old letters dating from 1973 were discovered in the turrets of Sala Terrena. Their authors – local workers and representatives of the municipality at the time – described the history of the monument and the repairs then underway, concealing the letters as a small message to future generations. Unfortunately, both the style and content of the letters reflect the period in which they were written; it is therefore something of an irony that the Daubek family is mentioned in them by just a single word…

Sala Terrena before the reconstruction, during a concert.

Grotto

The artificial grotto was historically used for gatherings in the park and for hosting concerts. It stands in the shade of mature coniferous trees. The grotto’s favourable acoustic properties allow musical performances without artificial amplification. For this reason, the grotto is currently accessible to the public on the occasion of concerts held as part of the Jarmila Novotná Festival and other social events.

Grotto