Svinaře Castle
To the southwest of Prague, just a few kilometers south of Karlštejn, we find Svinaře Castle, which was in a deplorable state for many years, preceding the phase of disintegration. In 2003, however, it was bought by Jiří Nosek from Svinař, who is gradually reconstructing it.
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Interesting facts Svinaře Castle
The castle is part of the complex, as well as a granary, a residential house, barns, a farm building, a barn, a distillery and a second residential house. The whole complex of buildings is laid out in a U-shape, surrounding the central courtyard. From the western and northwestern part, the castle park with a stone bridge adjoins the complex.
There used to be a fortress on the site of the current chateau, approximately from the first half of the 14th century until the beginning of the 16th century, when the owners stopped using it. The construction of the chateau and the extensive garden with the park did not take place until 1766 under Antonín Maschek of Maasburg. It was a common two-storey building with seven axes and dimensions of 24 x 12 m with a central three-axis risalit in the western facade. The dominant feature is a polygonal turret topped with a tent roof and a banner with the inscription AMV1766. The main entrance with the coat of arms of the owner of the castle was located from the courtyard. The castle retained this form until the end of the 19th century.
Then the Bachofen from Echt became the new owners, who also modified the chateau. From the south side, they added a 7 m long building with an octagonal bay window with a tent roof, above which rises a banner with the inscription BzE1890, marking the construction period. On the north side, a two-storey building with a rectangular floor plan was also created, which can be entered from the west by two arcade arches. The building had a preparation room and a kitchen with a manual freight elevator and a staircase to the first floor.
After that, the pig castle was owned by the Kahler family, under whose ownership no significant additions took place. In 1938, these owners were forced to flee Czechoslovakia from the Nazis and the castle became the property of the Prague Gestapo.
After the Second World War, the chateau was nationalized and in 1950 assigned to the Cement Plant in Beroun, followed by perhaps the most difficult stage of the Svinaře chateau. The castle served as a farmyard, apartments and for agricultural production. No one invested in the reconstruction and necessary modifications of the chateau, so it gradually fell into disrepair and fell into a deplorable state.
Since 2003, the owner of the Svinař chateau has been Ing. Jiří Nosek, who is gradually reconstructing the buildings.
Author: Andrea Štyndlová