Zámek Nenakonice

Nenakonice Chateau stands in the northern part of the village of Věrovany, in the Olomouc district of Moravia's Haná region. Built in the first half of the 18th century as a summer residence for canons of the Olomouc chapter, the chateau today sits abandoned and closed to visitors — yet its layered history and turbulent 20th-century fate still draw the attention of forgotten-heritage enthusiasts.

How old is the settlement of Nenakonice?

Nenakonice itself is documented as early as 1131, appearing in the founding charter of the Olomouc chapter, which held the settlement continuously until 1948. Nenakonice was the centre of a small estate that also included the nearby villages of Dub nad Moravou and Dluhonice, plus the hamlet of Sokol, founded in 1786. Today Nenakonice forms the northern part of the municipality of Věrovany.

Who actually built the chateau?

The chateau itself is considerably younger than the settlement. It was built between 1717 and 1730 on the initiative of Count František Ferdinand Oedt, a canon (provost) of the Olomouc chapter, whose coat of arms still marks the former main entrance. The building rose next to a farmstead belonging to the chapter and served two purposes at once: a summer residence for Olomouc canons, and the administrative seat for the manager of the Nenakonice estate.

How did the building evolve over the following decades?

After Oedt, his successor, canon Otto Honorius Egkh, continued the project and enlarged the chateau between 1730 and 1748. Further major rebuilding came under canon Karel Count Martinic, provost from 1748 to 1767, and the Baroque finishing works were closed out in 1780 by canon Jan Matěj Butz of Rollsberg. The chateau reached the appearance it is known by today only in the early decades of the 19th century, under provost Maria Weickard Count Trautmannsdorff.

Architecturally, the chateau began life as a single-wing Baroque building with a central tower. By 1740 it had been expanded into a three-wing layout. The tower itself was removed in the second half of the 18th century and replaced with a vaulted entrance hall. A Baroque granary was added near the main entrance, and an Empire-style gate was built at the start of the 19th century. Ornamental gardens once surrounded the whole complex.

A hidden treasure, a fire, and a difficult 20th century

In 1836, a hoard of Hungarian ducats and coins was discovered on the chateau grounds — a curious footnote in the estate's otherwise administrative history. The building then suffered a fire in 1866, with repairs completed by 1874. In the 1920s, the owner at the time converted part of the chateau into apartments. After 1948 the property passed into state ownership, and the building was used to store a depot of the Olomouc Research Library.

Can you visit Nenakonice Chateau today?

No. The chateau is currently in a deteriorated state and is completely closed to the public — there are no tours, events, or scheduled openings. Restoring the building would require substantial resources, and its future remains uncertain.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Nenakonice Chateau located? In the northern part of the village of Věrovany, in the Olomouc district, Olomouc Region, in the historic Haná area of Moravia.

Who built the chateau? Count František Ferdinand Oedt, a canon of the Olomouc chapter, between 1717 and 1730.

What was the chateau originally used for? As a summer residence for Olomouc canons and as the administrative seat for the nearby estate.

Is the chateau open to tourists? No, it is closed and in a progressively deteriorating condition.

Are there any notable stories tied to the chateau? Yes — a hoard of Hungarian ducats and coins was found there in 1836, and the building survived a fire in 1866 before being rebuilt.