Zámek Liteň

Liteň Chateau is a Baroque country residence in central Bohemia, in the small town of Liteň in the Beroun district, southwest of Prague. It is not among the Czech Republic's most famous castles, yet its story weaves together the fortunes of noble families, the devastation of the Thirty Years' War, and the life of one of the twentieth century's most celebrated opera singers.

How far back does Liteň's history go?

The settlement of Liteň is first mentioned in writing in 1195, recorded under the name Luteň, a spelling that persisted into the early fourteenth century. Even then, a fortified stronghold — a tvrz — already stood on the site of today's chateau. Over the following centuries the estate split into two separate strongholds, known as Valdek and the Mladotov stronghold, held by different branches of the local nobility.

Why is the chateau we see today Baroque?

During the Thirty Years' War, Liteň was burned by Swedish troops passing through the region. After the war ended, the entire Liteň estate was bought in 1648 by the counts of Bubna and Litice. It was this family who, on the site of the older Gothic stronghold, built a new residence: in 1661 they raised a late Baroque chateau whose basic shape, despite later alterations, survives to this day.

How did the Daubek family come to own it?

In March 1850 the estate was purchased by Josef František Daubek, a member of an agrarian-industrialist family that had built its fortune partly through fertilizer production and agricultural processing. Between 1882 and 1922 the estate was run by Josef Šebestián Daubek. Under the Daubeks, from the mid-nineteenth century until 1948, the chateau enjoyed its golden age; it was during this period that the surrounding English-style landscape park was laid out, established in the second half of the nineteenth century on the initiative of Josef František Daubek. Two curious relics of that era of garden fashion still survive in the park: a protected sala terrena and an artificial grotto.

What is the chateau's connection to a famous opera singer?

In the 1930s the Daubek family gained a new member through marriage: in 1931 Jarmila Novotná, a Czech soprano who would go on to become one of the brightest stars of the world opera stage, married Jiří Daubek. She sang for sixteen seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera and also appeared in Vienna, Berlin, Salzburg, Paris and Milan. After the Second World War the Daubek family emigrated, and in 1948 the estate was confiscated from its last private owner, Jiří Daubek. It was only in 1989, through post-communist restitution, that the chateau was returned to Novotná's family.

What is the chateau like today?

After decades of decline following the war and during the communist era, the current private owners have been gradually restoring the chateau. The building itself remains privately owned and is not permanently open to visitors, but the surrounding park is publicly accessible, and a nature trail — the Naučná stezka Liteň — runs through it, highlighting the park's rare and notable trees. Several times a year the chateau interiors are also opened during cultural events organized by the nonprofit association based there. The most important of these is the annual Jarmila Novotná Festival, which commemorates the celebrated soprano; her ashes rest in the Daubek family mausoleum in Liteň.

Frequently asked questions

Can you visit Liteň Chateau? The building itself is privately owned and is not permanently open to the public; it is accessible only occasionally, during cultural events. The surrounding park, however, is open to visitors at any time.

Who was Jarmila Novotná? She was a Czech soprano and one of the leading opera stars of the twentieth century, singing for sixteen seasons at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 1931 she married Jiří Daubek, owner of the Liteň estate.

When was the current Baroque chateau built? The late Baroque building dates from 1661, commissioned by the counts of Bubna and Litice on the site of an earlier Gothic stronghold.

What is worth seeing in the chateau park? The English-style park, laid out in the second half of the nineteenth century, contains a protected sala terrena and an artificial grotto, and a nature trail through it highlights rare tree species.

Why was the estate lost in 1948? After the communist takeover, the Daubek family's estate was confiscated from its last private owner, Jiří Daubek; it was only returned to the family through restitution in 1989.