Zásmuky Castle

Zásmuky Castle stands in the small town of Zásmuky in the Kolín district of the Central Bohemian Region, on the old road connecting Prague to Kutná Hora. Despite the English label "castle," the building is really a chateau in the Czech sense: a manor house that grew out of a fortified medieval stronghold rather than a purpose-built military fortress.

How did a stronghold end up in Zásmuky?

The settlement is first recorded in 1285, when a fortified manor here belonged to Sulislav of Zásmuky, a cook in the service of Queen Guta, wife of King Wenceslaus II. Around 1350, Ctibor of Zásmuky replaced the older timber structure with a stone fortress, which became the seat of the Zásmuky noble family. Cellars from that medieval building still survive beneath the present-day chateau.

When did the fortress become a Renaissance residence?

The turning point came in 1533, when Adam of Říčany bought the estate and converted the old stronghold into a four-wing Renaissance residence, a layout still recognizable today: a compact square of wings enclosing an inner courtyard, raised on the older Gothic foundations. Between 1584 and 1635, the property belonged to Václav Michna of Vacínov.

Why did the Sternberg family stay for over three centuries?

In 1637, following the devastation of the Thirty Years' War, Jan Rudolf of Sternberg took over the damaged estate. From that point until 1948 — 311 years in total — Zásmuky remained continuously in Sternberg hands. Around 1700 the family carried out modest alterations and added a Baroque grotto in the adjoining park, its walls faced with a mosaic of lava slag; the work is attributed to Giovanni Battista Alliprandi, an architect active for the Bohemian aristocracy at the time.

What happened to the chateau in the 20th century?

The building had a rough twentieth century. German authorities seized it during the Second World War, and from 1943 to 1945 it held a military archive connected to an SS weapons depot. After liberation in 1945 it briefly served as a Soviet army headquarters, then passed to Czechoslovak forces. Nationalized in 1948 under the communist government, the chateau was converted into storage warehouses in 1959 — an adaptation that caused serious, damaging alterations to the historic interiors. In 1982 a major fire caused further destruction.

Who looks after the chateau today?

After the political changes of 1989, the estate was returned to the Sternberg family through restitution — formally to Franziška Diana Sternbergová in 1992, with her daughter Alexandra taking over ownership in 2011. The family has since been carrying out a gradual restoration of the long-neglected building. Inside, an exhibition tells the history of the town of Zásmuky itself, while the surrounding park — home to old lime, oak, and horse-chestnut trees — is open free of charge year-round, regardless of the chateau's own visiting hours.

Frequently asked questions

Can visitors go inside Zásmuky Castle? Yes, though access is limited: the indoor exhibition typically opens during the summer season, mainly on weekends, while visits on other days require calling ahead to arrange a tour.

Where exactly is the chateau located? In the center of the town of Zásmuky, in the Kolín district, roughly 50 km east of Prague on the road toward Kutná Hora.

Is the chateau park open to everyone? Yes. The park surrounds the building and is freely accessible all year, independent of whether the chateau itself is open for tours on a given day.

Who owns the chateau now? Since 2011 it has belonged to Alexandra, a member of the Sternberg family, who regained the property through restitution after 1989.

Why is it called a "castle" rather than a fortress? Despite its fortified 13th-century origins, the building standing today is essentially a Renaissance-and-Baroque residential chateau, not a stronghold built for military defense.