Bludovský zámek

Bludov Chateau is a Baroque manor house in Bludov, a small municipality in the Olomouc Region of Moravia, that has stayed in the hands of a single noble family for over three hundred years. Unlike most Moravian castles turned into museums, this one is still a private home for descendants of the family that built it.

What stood on this site before the chateau?

Before the residence visible today, a medieval stronghold occupied the site. It was destroyed in the second half of the 15th century during the Bohemian-Hungarian wars, a period when disputes over the Bohemian crown regularly ravaged noble estates across Moravia. The ruins sat abandoned for decades until the land passed to the Žerotín family, one of the most influential Moravian houses of the era.

How did a Renaissance fortress become a Baroque chateau?

Roughly a century after the original stronghold was destroyed, the Žerotíns built a new Renaissance fortress on the same site. Everything changed after the Battle of White Mountain, when the Bohemian estates lost their rebellion against the Habsburgs and the Bludov estate was confiscated. It passed to a royal official from the Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn family, who rebuilt the fortress into a residence with late Renaissance features. Later owners kept remodeling the building in the Baroque style, layer upon layer, which is why the chateau standing today reads as Baroque while still carrying visible traces of its late Renaissance core.

When did the Žerotíns return to Bludov?

The Žerotín family bought the chateau back in 1710 and has held it ever since, aside from one interruption during the communist era, described below. Bludov did not immediately become the family's main seat. That happened in 1802, when Karel Ludvík of Žerotín sold the family's other chateau at Velké Losiny because of financial trouble and shifted the center of the family's holdings to Bludov instead.

What happened to the chateau in the 20th century?

After the Second World War, the estate came under state control, and in 1949 the chateau was handed over to the municipality of Bludov. The situation only changed after the fall of communism: in 2000, as part of post-communist restitution, the property was returned to the family's descendants, the Mornstein-Zierotin branch of the Žerotíns. That makes Bludov a rare case of continuity — despite a fifty-year gap in ownership, the chateau is once again home to direct descendants of the family that has controlled it since the 18th century. It is one of only two chateaus in Moravia still inhabited by the family that originally built them.

Where exactly is Bludov Chateau located?

The chateau stands in Bludov, in the Olomouc Region in the eastern part of the Czech Republic, historically part of Moravia. Its coordinates are approximately 49.94° N, 16.93° E.

Frequently asked questions

Who owns Bludov Chateau today? The Mornstein-Zierotin family, a branch of the historic Žerotín house that has controlled the estate since 1710, apart from a state-ownership period between 1949 and 2000.

What architectural style is the chateau built in? It is a Baroque building that still shows late Renaissance elements, the result of centuries of remodeling on the same site.

Is the chateau still lived in? Yes. It is one of just two chateaus in Moravia still inhabited by descendants of the family that originally built and owned them.

What stood on the site before the current chateau? A medieval stronghold, destroyed in the second half of the 15th century during the Bohemian-Hungarian wars.

Where is Bludov located? In the Olomouc Region, in the historical Moravian part of the Czech Republic's eastern territory.