Jemčina Castle

Jemčina Castle is a small hunting chateau in the village of Jemčina, part of the municipality of Hatín, in the Jindřichův Hradec district of South Bohemia, set beside a bend in the Nežárka River and once tied to the Černín family's hunting estates.

The origins of Jemčina Castle

The site's history began in 1673, when Count Jan Jáchym Slavata established a horse-breeding stud farm here. Roughly seventy years later, in the mid-18th century, Count Prokop Vojtěch Černín replaced the stud farm with a hunting lodge built on the same ground. The design came from Anselm Lurago, an architect associated with a number of Baroque commissions for Bohemian nobility in that era.

What the castle was built for

Jemčina was never meant as a grand residential seat. Instead, it served as a base for hunting expeditions across the Černín family's extensive game grounds in the surrounding countryside. Among the activities organized here were parforce hunts — a style of hunting fashionable with 18th and 19th century nobility, in which riders on horseback, accompanied by packs of hounds, chased game through the forests along set routes. The castle provided a gathering point and shelter for these hunting parties before and after the chase.

Traces of this past survive elsewhere today. Furnishings from the Černín hunting lodge at Jemčina, including a gallery of paintings depicting the estate's hounds, are now held at the castle in Jindřichův Hradec, where visitors can see them as part of that castle's collection.

From military base to private restoration

The chateau's post-war history moved far from its original purpose. Between 1950 and 1991, the building was used as a base for rocket forces, a period that left its mark on the structure and cut off decades of continuity as a private residence. That changed in 2002, when the property was purchased by Pavel Václav, who began an extensive restoration to bring the chateau back from years of military use and neglect.

Heritage protection

Jemčina Castle, together with its surrounding park, is protected as a cultural monument. The protection covers the building and the grounds around it, which together shape the landscape setting on the bank of the Nežárka.

The surrounding area

Jemčina lies close to Novosedly nad Nežárkou, in a quiet, rural stretch of South Bohemia where the Nežárka River winds through forests and meadows in a series of pronounced bends. It is a part of the region well off the main tourist routes, but shaped over centuries by the hunting grounds, stud farms and country seats of Bohemian noble families.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Jemčina Castle located? The castle stands in the village of Jemčina, part of the municipality of Hatín in the Jindřichův Hradec district of South Bohemia, beside a bend in the Nežárka River near Novosedly nad Nežárkou.

Who built Jemčina Castle, and when? It was built in the mid-18th century for Count Prokop Vojtěch Černín, on the site of a stud farm founded in 1673 by Count Jan Jáchym Slavata. The design is attributed to architect Anselm Lurago.

What was Jemčina Castle used for? It served as a base for hunting parties on the Černín family's extensive hunting grounds, including parforce hunts, in which riders on horseback with packs of hounds chased game through the surrounding forests along set routes.

What happened to the castle after the Second World War? From 1950 to 1991 the building was used as a base for rocket forces. In 2002 it was bought by Pavel Václav, who began an extensive restoration after decades of military use.