Zámek Libějovice

Libějovice Chateau is a Baroque manor complex standing about half a kilometre west of the village of Libějovice, in the Strakonice district of South Bohemia, first raised for the Buquoy family and later enlarged under the Schwarzenbergs.

Who built the chateau, and when?

Construction began in 1696 under Count Filip Emanuel Buquoy, but a fire during the works delayed matters, and the Baroque main building was not actually finished until 1747–1754. The result was a single-storey structure on a roughly E-shaped floor plan, measuring about 63 by 27 metres and topped with a small clock tower. It's worth noting that the village of Libějovice also has an older, separate building known locally as the "old chateau," reworked between 1715 and 1718 by Karel Kajetán Buquoy — a distinct property from the one described here.

How did the Schwarzenbergs change the building?

In 1801 the last Buquoy owner, Jan Josef Buquoy, sold the estate to Prince Josef of Schwarzenberg. Between 1816 and 1817 the new owners carried out a substantial rebuild: a second floor was added, and the facades were reworked in a late Empire style. The chateau lost its original small tower in the process — its clock was relocated to a new triangular pediment on the south front. Inside stood a private chapel housing paintings of the Holy Family and a Crucifixion scene in a style echoing Rubens.

What happened to the estate in the 20th century?

1924 marked a sharp turning point: land reform forced the owners to sell, and the building's valuable interior furnishings were carted off to Hluboká Castle. Between 1924 and 1945 the property belonged to the Redemptorist order, who added a church and monastery alongside it. After 1948, under the communist regime, the building was taken over by the Border Guard and used as a training centre for dog handlers, including the breeding of Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs.

What surrounds the chateau?

An English-style park spreads around the building, laid out in 1842 and covering roughly 44 hectares. It contains a number of rare tree species, among them Hungarian oak, Japanese zelkova, and black walnut. The grounds have gone largely untended for years, though, and self-seeded growth has spread through parts of the park. Nearby, a four-row avenue of lime trees links the villages of Lomec and Lázeň, passing close by the chateau on its way.

What condition is the chateau in today?

For decades after 1990 the building sat without a steady caretaker and gradually deteriorated. That changed in 2020, when a group of young private owners bought the estate and founded the association "Zachráníme zámek z.s." ("We'll Save the Chateau") to begin a step-by-step restoration. The complex remains listed as a protected cultural monument and forms part of the Libějovicko–Lomecko landscape heritage zone, which covers the surrounding grounds of the former estate.

Can visitors tour the chateau?

The property doesn't operate as a conventional tourist site with fixed opening hours — restoration work is ongoing, and access to the interior isn't unrestricted. Anyone interested in the current state of the works, or in possible visiting arrangements, should get in touch directly with the association leading the rescue effort.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Libějovice Chateau located? About half a kilometre west of the village of Libějovice, in the Strakonice district of South Bohemia.

Who built the chateau, and who owned it afterwards? Count Filip Emanuel Buquoy began construction in 1696; in 1801 the estate passed to Prince Josef of Schwarzenberg, whose family later added a second floor.

Is the chateau open to the public? Not as a regular tourist attraction — it has been under restoration since 2020, led by private owners and a local association, with limited access to the interior.

What's worth seeing around the chateau? The surrounding 19th-century English park with its rare trees, and the nearby four-row lime avenue running between Lomec and Lázeň.