Castle in Bartošovice

Bartošovice Castle stands right in the centre of the village of Bartošovice, in the Nový Jičín district of the Moravian-Silesian Region, facing the local parish church. It is a modest but historically layered residence, today home to a regional tourism office, a seasonal museum, and a park containing the oldest documented plane tree in the Czech Republic.

Where does today's building come from?

A Renaissance fortified tower (tvrz) originally stood on the site, built around 1490. In 1583 it was rebuilt into a Renaissance-style castle — a date confirmed by an inscription on one of the portals. The rebuilding was carried out by the Sedlnický z Choltic family, the owners of the estate at the time.

How did later owners reshape it?

From 1616 the Bartošovice estate belonged to the Podstatský family of Prusinovice. By 1670 they had expanded the building into a two-storey, four-wing castle enclosing a rectangular courtyard — a layout that largely survives today.

In 1768 the estate was bought by the widowed Countess Marie Birgitta Taaffe, née Chotková, whose second husband was the botanist and zoologist Josef Emanuel Canal. In the 1860s the property passed to the Aresin-Fattoni family, and between 1869 and 1877 they carried out a historicising reconstruction in the Italian Neo-Renaissance style that gave the castle its present appearance, including the balustrades, coffered doors and wooden coffered ceilings still preserved in the 19th-century interiors.

The last private owners were the Czeczowiczko family, who left the castle in 1938 out of fear of the approaching Nazi regime. In 1948 the Czechoslovak state settled accounts with them financially, which in practice meant the estate passed into state hands. Since 1999 the castle has been listed as a cultural monument.

What is the castle used for today?

The building now belongs to the municipality of Bartošovice. It houses the seat of the Poodří Region tourism management organisation, while the interiors themselves function as a hotel and event venue, including weddings. The second floor holds a museum exhibition dedicated to Moravské Kravařsko, the surrounding micro-region that Bartošovice belongs to. The museum is open seasonally, from 1 May to 31 October.

What is worth seeing in the castle park?

The park's main attraction is the so-called Josephine's Plane Tree — the most massive and oldest documented London plane tree in the Czech Republic, protected as a natural monument. It now stands around 36 metres tall, with a trunk circumference of nearly 8 metres. It was planted in 1833 by the scholar Josef Meinert, reportedly as a token of love for Countess Josephine of Canal, using a sapling brought over from England. The tree officially received its name on 27 October 2001.

What is the rescue station in Bartošovice?

The village is also home to the Bartošovice Rescue Station, run by the Nový Jičín branch of the Czech Union for Nature Conservation. Opened on 28 October 1983, it was the first facility of its kind in all of Central Europe. Today it forms part of the National Network of Rescue Stations, established in 1997, and takes in roughly 1,700 to 2,300 injured or orphaned wild animals every year, the majority of them birds. The station is a partner organisation of Zoo Ostrava, with which it has cooperated on projects such as building aviaries for the golden eagle reintroduction programme. It operates out of a former Baroque rectory, which also houses the House of Nature Poodří exhibition — a separate site from the castle building itself.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Bartošovice Castle located? In the centre of the village of Bartošovice, opposite the parish church, about 11 km north of Nový Jičín and 9 km northwest of Příbor.

Can visitors tour the castle? The interiors mainly function as a hotel and event space, while the museum exhibition on the second floor is open seasonally, from May to October.

What is the notable tree in the castle park? It is Josephine's Plane Tree, planted in 1833 — the oldest and most massive plane tree documented in the Czech Republic, protected as a natural monument.

Is the animal rescue station located inside the castle itself? No. The Bartošovice Rescue Station is a separate facility in the village, run by the local nature conservation branch and partnered with Zoo Ostrava, but it is not part of the castle building.