Branišovice Castle

Branišovice Castle is a modest baroque manor house in the village of Branišovice in South Moravia, in the Brno-venkov district, a short drive northwest of Znojmo.

What does the castle in Branišovice look like?

The building stands in the southern part of the village, next to a former farmstead. It is a small, two-tract, single-storey structure on a rectangular floor plan, built in baroque style at the end of the 17th century. This was never a grand aristocratic palace — rather a sturdy manor building that served administrative purposes for the surrounding estate for centuries.

Where did the castle come from?

The site's history begins in the 13th century, when a local noble family built a fortified stronghold here. In 1329 the owners sold it to Eliška Rejčka, founder of the Cistercian convent Aula Regia in Old Brno, and a year later she bequeathed the property to the convent itself in her will. From then on, the nuns of Old Brno managed the Branišovice estate for generations. In the 15th century the old stronghold was rebuilt into a representative residence, around which a larger complex of farm buildings gradually grew.

What happened after the convent was dissolved?

Once the convent ceased to exist, a small independent Branišovice estate was carved out of the former monastic property, and the castle continued to function as the administrative building of the farm. In 1807 the estate was bought by the House of Liechtenstein, which added it to its extensive Moravian holdings — from then on the castle was just one of many small working buildings within a much larger fortune.

Did anything memorable ever happen here?

Yes — in 1848 Emperor Ferdinand I briefly stopped in Branišovice together with his family. The visit lasted only about two hours: the emperor was served lunch, after which he received the local parish priest and six reeves from neighboring villages. This episode remains the best-known moment in the history of the small residence.

How did the castle fare in the 20th century?

The Liechtensteins held the estate until 1908, when Rudolf Liechtenstein, the last owner of that line, died. The property then passed to the Kinský family, who administered it until the end of the Second World War. After the war the castle was confiscated and handed over to a local agricultural breeding enterprise. In the 1960s the building underwent a socialist-era "modernization," during which the upper floor was converted into apartments — a change that permanently altered its original manorial character.

Is it worth visiting?

Branišovice Castle today is a low-key building with none of the tourist infrastructure typical of grand castles — it is not run as a museum and is not open for general sightseeing. Still, for anyone exploring the Znojmo region, it can be an interesting stop simply because of its long and eventful history, tied to the Aula Regia convent, the Liechtensteins, the Kinskýs, and a brief but memorable imperial visit in 1848.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Branišovice Castle located? In the southern part of the village of Branišovice, in the Brno-venkov district of the South Moravian Region, not far from Znojmo.

Who built the castle in Branišovice? The current baroque building was erected at the end of the 17th century by the Aula Regia convent of Old Brno, to which the village belonged at the time. Before that, a fortified stronghold of a local noble family had stood on the same spot since the 13th century.

Can visitors tour the castle? No — after its post-war conversion, the building now serves agricultural and residential purposes rather than functioning as a museum open to the public.

Which noble families owned the castle? The Cistercian convent of Aula Regia, followed from 1807 by the House of Liechtenstein, and from 1908 until the end of the Second World War by the Kinský family.