Hraběšín Castle

Hraběšín Castle is a small, two-wing manor house standing in the village of Hraběšín, southwest of Čáslav in the Kutná Hora district. The building combines Renaissance origins, a Baroque rebuild carried out by a monastery, and more than a century in the hands of the Schwarzenberg family, who used it for decades mainly as a hunting retreat.

Who built the original manor house?

The village of Hraběšín first appears in written sources in 1379, when it was owned by Ješek z Hraběšína. The residence itself, however, came much later. Only after 1622, once the estate became an independent domain, did Adam Studenecký z Pašiněvsi build a late-Renaissance manor house here as the seat of a small landed estate. That mid-17th-century structure forms the core of the castle that stands today.

How did the estate end up owned by a monastery?

In 1658 the estate passed into the hands of the Cistercian monastery at nearby Sedlec and remained under monastic administration until 1783. It was during this monastic period, in the 1740s, that the building underwent a thorough Baroque reconstruction. That phase produced the ornate entrance portal topped with a statue of Saint John of Nepomuk, as well as the chapel added onto the east wing. The whole complex — the manor house, the farm buildings, and the surrounding wall — has kept that basic layout ever since.

Why did the Schwarzenbergs turn it into a hunting seat?

After monastic estates were secularized, the property came under the administration of a religious fund, and in 1819 it was bought by Prince Karel Filip of Schwarzenberg. From that point on, the family treated Hraběšín primarily as a hunting base tied to the surrounding forests, rather than as a representative family seat. During the 19th century the facades were refreshed and the roof replaced, giving the building much of the appearance it still has today. The Schwarzenbergs remained the owners of the estate until 1945.

What happened to the castle in the 20th century?

After the Second World War, between 1948 and 1989, the estate was nationalized by the communist authorities, as happened to most of the country's former aristocratic properties. The situation changed only after 1989: in 1992, under Czechoslovakia's restitution laws, the castle was returned to the Schwarzenberg family, which still owns it today. The building is listed as a protected cultural monument.

What does the castle look like today?

The building has a two-wing layout under a hipped roof, with a chapel attached to the east range. Its facades bear traces of several periods — a Renaissance core, a Baroque portal crowned with a saint's statue, and 19th-century facade updates. A group of farm buildings and a boundary wall around the grounds have also survived. The property remains privately owned and continues to function much as it did in its later role as a hunting seat; there is no confirmed information about regular public access to the interior.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Hraběšín Castle located? In the village of Hraběšín, southwest of Čáslav, in the Kutná Hora district of Central Bohemia.

When was the manor house built? After 1622, when Adam Studenecký z Pašiněvsi built a late-Renaissance residence on the estate.

Who rebuilt the castle in Baroque style? Cistercian monks from the Sedlec monastery, who administered the estate from 1658 to 1783 and carried out a major rebuild in the 1740s.

What role did the castle play for the Schwarzenberg family? From 1819, when Prince Karel Filip of Schwarzenberg bought it, the property served mainly as the family's hunting seat, until 1945.

Who owns the castle today? After nationalization under the communist regime, the estate was returned to the Schwarzenberg family in 1992 through restitution, and the family still owns it.

Can visitors tour the castle? There is no confirmed information about regular public access to the interior — the property remains privately owned.