Krásné Březno Castle

Krásné Březno Chateau stands in the district that shares its name, on the edge of Ústí nad Labem. The complex is really two connected buildings — the Old Chateau and the New Chateau — whose story stretches back to the sixteenth century, when a Saxon knightly family called the Bünaus ran the estate.

How far back does the settlement's history go?

The earliest written record of the village dates to a 1057 deed issued by Prince Spytihněv II. Back then it was known as Březník, and later, up until 1867, as Březnice — the modern name Krásné Březno only took hold in the second half of the nineteenth century. The turning point that gave the place its manorial character came in 1528, when the Bünau family, Saxon knights, bought the Blansko estate together with the village of Březnice and set up their main residence here.

What happened during the Renaissance building phase?

Heinrich of Bünau put up the first manor house on the site between 1566 and 1568; today only the vaulted cellars beneath the north wing of the present New Chateau survive from that structure. His successor, Rudolf of Bünau, extended the estate's working wing between 1597 and 1603, adding a second tract and an upper floor to create the Old Chateau in the Saxon Renaissance style. The builder responsible for the work was Hans Bog of Pirna. At the same time, the family had a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary built — today the Church of St Florian — linked to the chateau by a covered footbridge. A sundial on the old wing's facade still carries the date 1603 and the Latin motto "Soli Deo Gloria." An older building east of the Old Chateau was reworked, at the latest by the mid-seventeenth century, into the two-storey, four-wing New Chateau, distinguished by its corner cylindrical towers.

How did the Baroque era and the nineteenth century change the estate?

In 1730 the chateau underwent a Baroque remodeling carried out by Ludvík Richard Cavriani. Between 1798 and 1805 the Old Chateau lost its residential role and was converted into apartments for the estate's officials — a shift from noble seat to administrative housing. In the nineteenth century a new wing with a balcony was added to the complex. The Baroque garden that once surrounded the chateau, complete with ornamental structures, was largely destroyed in 1849, when the railway line to Dresden was built through the grounds.

What is the chateau used for today?

An extensive reconstruction of the complex was completed in 2011. The protected historic building now houses the National Heritage Institute's regional office for Ústí nad Labem. Its architecture, spanning Renaissance cellars through to Baroque facade details, records several centuries of continuous change on the same site.

Frequently asked questions

Who built Krásné Březno Chateau? Heinrich of Bünau built the first manor house between 1566 and 1568. His successor Rudolf of Bünau extended it into the Old Chateau between 1597 and 1603, with construction carried out by Hans Bog of Pirna.

Can visitors tour the chateau? The building serves today as the seat of a heritage-protection institution following its 2011 restoration, so it's worth checking current access before a visit, since the site now functions primarily as an administrative office rather than a museum.

What's the difference between the Old and New Chateau? The Old Chateau is the Renaissance wing built between 1597 and 1603, linked by a footbridge to the Church of St Florian. The New Chateau is a two-storey, four-wing building with corner cylindrical towers, created through the mid-seventeenth-century rebuilding of an older structure on the site.

What happened to the chateau garden? The Baroque garden and its ornamental buildings were largely removed in 1849 to make way for the railway line connecting the area to Dresden.