Berchembogen

Berchembogen is a small hunting lodge tucked into the forest near the village of Trstěnice, in the Cheb district of the Karlovy Vary Region. From a distance it looks like a fairy-tale mini-castle with turrets and gables, but it was built purely as a retreat for resting after the hunt — never as a permanent residence — and that purpose still shows in the way it is laid out.

Where in the forest does it stand?

The lodge sits in woodland roughly 2.5 km from Trstěnice, the village it administratively belongs to. A turn-off from the I/21 road, which links Chodová Planá with Cheb and runs close to one of the main routes between Karlovy Vary and the German border, leads to the building. Nearby lies Horní Ves, a small village that is itself part of the same municipality, which occasionally causes confusion when the lodge is located on a map. The isolation and old forest surroundings still give the place the feel of a hunting hideaway, exactly the effect its builder intended.

Who built it, and when?

The lodge was raised in the second half of the 19th century on the grounds of the former Chodová Planá estate. Its owner, Jan Arnošt (Johann Ernst) Berchem-Haimhausen, commissioned it as a base for short stays during hunting trips. Work began in the 1870s with completion originally planned for 1875, but construction dragged on and the lodge was finally finished in 1876. The name Berchembogen is a Germanized form derived from the owner's family name, following a naming pattern common for private noble residences in the region at the time.

What does the building look like?

Berchembogen is a two-storey structure with a strikingly irregular floor plan: the entrance sits beneath an ornamental balcony, flanked by corner bay projections and small turrets. Saddle roofs with stepped gables, together with richly decorated window surrounds and other architectural details, give the whole ensemble a pseudo-Gothic character — a style favored in the late 19th century by aristocrats who wanted their new buildings to look like ancient fortified seats. The effect was deliberate: the lodge was meant to evoke an old stronghold even though it was, from the outset, a purely recreational building.

What happened to it after the war?

The Berchem-Haimhausen family used the lodge until the 1940s. After 1945, like many noble estates in the border regions, it was confiscated by the state and handed over to the national enterprise Státní lesy (State Forests), which managed it as a forestry-related utility building. Since 1963 Berchembogen has been listed as a protected cultural monument, a status that shielded it from demolition or crude conversion at a time when many similar buildings in the border areas were falling into disrepair.

What is Berchembogen today?

Since the early 1990s the building has operated as an inn, a use that in its own way continues the lodge's original purpose as a resting place in the forest — only now open to anyone who ventures into the woods between Chodová Planá and Cheb, rather than just the estate's owners. It remains a small, little-known spot on the regional map, but for visitors interested in 19th-century revival architecture or a quiet forest walk, it is a worthwhile detour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Berchembogen located? In the forest about 2.5 km from the village of Trstěnice, in the Cheb district of the Karlovy Vary Region, just off the I/21 road between Chodová Planá and Cheb.

Who built Berchembogen, and when? It was built between 1870 and 1876 by Jan Arnošt Berchem-Haimhausen, owner of the Chodová Planá estate, as a hunting lodge.

What architectural style is the building? Pseudo-Gothic: a two-storey structure with corner bay projections, turrets, stepped gables, and rich decorative detail.

What happened to it after 1945? It was nationalized and handed over to the State Forests enterprise; since 1963 it has been a protected cultural monument.

Can visitors see Berchembogen today? Yes — since the early 1990s the building has operated as an inn open to visitors.