Starý zámek Chocenice

Starý zámek (the Old Chateau) stands right in the heart of Chocenice in southern Bohemia, next to the village's newer Baroque manor house, forming one historic estate complex with it. It's a modest but genuinely old administrative building that has been a protected cultural monument since 1958 — and one that is currently in a race against time to survive.

What will you actually see there?

A solid, two-storey structure with a broken mansard roof and a timber-framed upper floor. The vaulting and roof timberwork point to construction from the late 17th century or the first half of the 18th, placing the building firmly in the Baroque period. The ground floor is partly vaulted and still contains a so-called black kitchen — a hearth room with no proper flue, where smoke simply filled the space before finding its way out through gaps in the roof. It's one of the clearest physical clues to just how old this structure really is.

The condition, though, is dire. Wood-destroying fungus has attacked the timber elements, the chimneys have been dismantled down to roof level, and part of the south wall is missing entirely. Structural engineers have warned that without intervention the building could collapse within a few years. This isn't a site you walk through — it's one you view from the outside, a monument in the middle of a rescue effort rather than a polished tourist stop.

What's the story behind it?

The Old Chateau sits immediately next to the newer Chocenice manor house and for centuries served as its administrative backbone. When the Renaissance-era fortress on the neighboring plot was being rebuilt into a Baroque residence, this very building was used temporarily as the lord's quarters while the main works were underway. Once that rebuilding was finished, it became the seat of the estate's administration, run on behalf of the Sinzendorf family, who held the surrounding lands for a long stretch of the early modern era.

In the first third of the 19th century the building underwent a Classicist-style renovation, layered on top of its earlier Baroque structure. Its function shifted several more times over the following decades before it was eventually abandoned and left to decay.

Who is looking after it today?

A civic association called "Starý zámek Chocenice" has taken on the building's cause and has spent years campaigning to save it. It's largely thanks to volunteer-driven initiatives like this one that the structure is still standing rather than demolished or reduced to rubble — restoration projects of this kind in the Czech Republic typically depend on grants and years of patient work.

How do you get to Chocenice?

The village sits along road I/20, which connects Plzeň to Nepomuk, in the Plzeň-jih (Plzeň-South) district. Coming from Plzeň, it makes for a convenient stop on the way south — pair it with other sights in the region, since the village itself won't take more than half an hour to walk through.

When is the best time to visit?

Since the building is mostly viewed from outside, any season with decent visibility works — spring and autumn give the best light for photographing the façade. In winter, watch your footing on the pavement around the monument, as its immediate surroundings aren't always well maintained.

Frequently asked questions

Can you go inside the Old Chateau? No — the building is structurally unsafe, so visits are limited to viewing it from the outside.

What's the difference between the Old Chateau and the new Chocenice manor house? The Old Chateau was the estate's older administrative building, while the new manor house is the actual Baroque residence, built out of a converted Renaissance fortress.

Is the building legally protected? Yes, it has held cultural monument status in the Czech Republic since May 3, 1958.

Who is trying to save the building? The civic association "Starý zámek Chocenice" is leading efforts to preserve and eventually restore it.