Castle Bystřice pod Hostýnem

Bystřice pod Hostýnem Chateau stands at the heart of this Moravian town on the site of a medieval water fortress, and today houses a municipal museum along with a gallery of portraits of its last noble owners.

What stood here before the chateau?

The site's history begins with a Gothic water fortress built by the lords of Tvorkov after the nearby Obřany stronghold fell into decline. The fortress is first documented in written records from 1440, and it occupied the very ground where the chateau stands today.

How did the fortress become a Renaissance residence?

A Renaissance chateau was raised on the old fortress foundations in the mid-16th century. Its owners at the time, Bohunka of Vítkov and Václav Bítovský of Bítov, gave the building its finished Renaissance form in 1616 — stone coats of arms placed above the entrance gate still commemorate their patronage.

What happened to the estate after 1620?

The defeat of the Bohemian estates at the Battle of White Mountain led to the confiscation of the Bítovský family's property. The chateau first passed to the Lobkowicz family, and in 1650 it was acquired by the Rottal family, who held it for more than a century.

Who gave the chateau its present baroque look?

The chateau owes its current baroque-classicist appearance to a major reconstruction carried out in 1763 by the Brno architect František Antonín Grimm. This rebuilding gave the residence the stately proportions visitors can still admire today.

How did the Laudon family come to own the chateau?

In 1827 the estate passed to the Laudon family, descendants of the celebrated Austrian general. Olivier Freiherr von Laudon became the first owner from this line. The chateau's prestige was underlined in 1897, when Emperor Franz Joseph I paid it a visit. The Laudons kept the property until 1934; its last owner, Arnošt Gideon Laudon, was succeeded by the Czechoslovak state, which purchased the estate.

What became of the chateau after the Second World War?

After 1945 the building served as a military warehouse for medical supplies. Today it belongs to the town of Bystřice pod Hostýnem, which has opened it to the public in an entirely different capacity.

What can visitors see inside today?

The chateau now houses the town's Municipal Museum, which grew out of a regional museum founded in 1933 on the initiative of the collector František Táborský, who donated numerous items from his own private collections to its holdings. Visitors can explore four permanent exhibitions — ceramics, the history of Bystřice's craft guilds, and Táborský's own study — alongside further displays devoted to Napoleonic-era soldiers and the Laudon family. A separate highlight is the gallery of portraits of the chateau's last owners, on loan since 2012 from the collections of the National Heritage Institute.

What about the chateau park?

The park surrounding the chateau now belongs to the Czech Army, which operates a medical supply centre there. As a result, the grounds remain closed to the public, a common disappointment for museum visitors hoping to stroll through the grounds afterward.

Frequently asked questions

Can the Bystřice pod Hostýnem chateau be visited? Yes. The building houses the Municipal Museum, with permanent exhibitions and the portrait gallery open to visitors during regular museum hours.

Who was the last noble owner of the chateau? Arnošt Gideon Laudon, the final member of the Laudon family, which owned the estate from 1827 to 1934.

What architectural style is the chateau built in? Its present form is baroque-classicist, the result of a 1763 rebuilding, though older Gothic and Renaissance masonry underlies the structure.

Is the chateau park open to visitors? No. The park belongs to the Czech Army and hosts a medical supply depot, so it remains closed to the public.