Králův Dvůr Chateau

Králův Dvůr Chateau stands in the town that shares its name, in the Beroun district, a short drive from Prague. Few Czech chateaux carry a history stretching this far back — from a medieval royal hunting court to a Renaissance noble seat, and now to an ongoing municipal restoration project.

Where does the name come from?

"Králův Dvůr" translates as "King's Court," and the name is literal. In the second third of the 13th century, King Wenceslaus I ordered a new hunting court built on this spot, after the small hunting stronghold at Počaply proved too modest for his sizeable royal retinue. At the start of the 15th century, the lords of Buřenice raised another structure here. The building's present Renaissance form dates to 1585, when Jan Popel the Younger of Lobkowicz built a new chateau on the older foundations.

How did ownership change over the centuries?

From 1594 the estate passed into royal hands and served as a hunting chateau. In 1710, Adam of Liechtenstein took it over as a pledge holder and rebuilt the residence in Baroque style — it was around the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries that the chateau reached roughly the size and layout it still has today. In 1860, Prince Emil Egon of Fürstenberg bought the estate and chateau, and his family kept ownership until 1945.

What happened to the chateau after 1945?

The postwar decades stripped the building of its residential role. It was pressed into service as an agricultural school, then as offices for a housing cooperative, and later as a vegetable warehouse — uses far removed from its original purpose, and ones that left the structure increasingly worn down. In 1988, construction of the D5 motorway cut straight through the chateau grounds, permanently destroying the historic chateau park.

What is happening at the chateau today?

The turning point came in 2011, when the town of Králův Dvůr bought the chateau back from a private local owner for 13.5 million Czech crowns. Since then, the municipality has been carrying out a phased reconstruction, aiming eventually to reopen the building to the public. The work covers both structural repairs and an attempt to give the chateau a cultural role for the local community again.

Where exactly is the chateau located?

The chateau sits in the town of Králův Dvůr, in the Beroun district of the Central Bohemian Region, close to the town of Beroun itself and within easy reach of Prague. Its position along the route toward Plzeň meant the surrounding area urbanized heavily in the second half of the 20th century, and the D5 motorway's construction permanently altered the immediate landscape.

Frequently asked questions

Can visitors currently tour Králův Dvůr Chateau? The chateau has been under phased reconstruction led by the town since 2011, so public access depends on the current stage of work — check with local authorities before planning a visit.

Why is the chateau called "King's Court"? The name comes from the royal hunting court King Wenceslaus I ordered built here in the 13th century, after the existing stronghold at Počaply no longer met the needs of his retinue.

Who built the Renaissance chateau seen today? The present building took shape in 1585, when Jan Popel the Younger of Lobkowicz constructed a Renaissance chateau on the site of an earlier structure from the early 15th century.

How did the D5 motorway affect the chateau? Built in 1988, the D5 motorway cut through the chateau grounds and destroyed the historic park that once surrounded the residence.