Tochovice Castle

Tochovice Castle is a classicist mansion in the small village of Tochovice in the Central Bohemian Region, roughly fifteen kilometres south of Příbram. Behind its restrained, symmetrical facade lies over seven centuries of ownership changes, rebuilding projects, and one of Bohemia's best-known aristocratic names.

How did a castle end up in a village this small?

The site's story begins in the first half of the 13th century, when the Benedictine monastery of St. John the Baptist — based on an island above Davle — built a fortified manor house here. Ownership shifted repeatedly over the following centuries: between 1436 and 1515 the estate was pledged to the Zmrzlík family of Svojšín, and in 1532 Abbot Placidus sold the manor, together with its farmstead and the town of Tochovice itself, to the knight Jan of Vítenice.

A new chapter opened in 1623, when Přibík Jeníšek of Újezd took over the property. The Jeníšek family held Tochovice until 1728, when the male line died out and the estate passed to Count Vilém Albrecht Krakowský of Kolowrat. It was during this later period, in the early 1820s, that the old manor was reworked in classicist style to a design by the noted architect Johann Philipp Joendl — the first major step toward the building's present appearance.

Where does the castle's current look come from?

The mansion only reached its final form between 1890 and 1893, when Dr. Friedrich Schwarzenberg commissioned a thorough reconstruction based on surviving plans by the princely architect Raimund Marchetti. The Schwarzenbergs — one of the most prominent noble families in the Czech lands — gave the building its unified classicist character: a low, single-storey, two-wing structure facing directly onto its park.

The family owned Tochovice until 1949, when it was nationalised under the communist government. It wasn't until restitution proceedings in the 1990s that the estate returned to the family, passing to Anna Bucherová, daughter of Ernst Schwarzenberg.

What's the setting like around the mansion?

The castle is wrapped in a well-kept English-style park, complete with a pond and a small island — arguably the most photogenic feature of the whole estate and one that's easy to appreciate even from outside the grounds. The mansion itself remains private property and is not open to the public: there are no regular tours or interior exhibitions, which sets Tochovice apart from many other Czech castles built for visitors.

How do you get there?

Tochovice sits in a quiet, rural corner of Central Bohemia, about 15 km south of Příbram, a town with solid connections to Prague. The drive from Prague takes roughly an hour, making the mansion a natural stop on a longer day trip through the Brdy a Podbrdsko region, an area better known for its hiking trails and low-key historic sites than crowds.

When is the best time to visit?

Since the interior isn't accessible, spring and summer are the most rewarding seasons — this is when the English park looks its best, and a walk along the pond with its little island gives the clearest view of the classicist architecture set against greenery.

Frequently asked questions

Can you go inside Tochovice Castle? No. The mansion is privately owned and closed to the public, with no regular tours or exhibitions available.

Why does the castle look classicist rather than medieval? The original fortified manor was rebuilt in classicist style in the early 1820s to a design by Johann Philipp Joendl, then given its final form between 1890 and 1893 under Friedrich Schwarzenberg, following plans by architect Raimund Marchetti.

What can you see around the building itself? An English-style park surrounds the mansion, including a pond with a small island — visible and worth a walk even without access to the interior.

How far is Tochovice from Příbram? About 15 km to the south, in a quiet part of the Central Bohemian Region.