When the Mitrowicz company began to rescue the chateau in Koloděje nad Lužnicí more than a decade ago, it was little more than half-broken farm buildings damaged from the 2002 floods, sporadic tree growth, and broken foundations.
The condition of the chateau today bears testimony to the tenacity, foresight, and patience of the owners who were just realizing that not everything would be finished within a year. The Mitrowicz company has been run by Michal Bedřich the entire time, who also has a very personal relationship to the site: it was in the local chapel where he proposed marriage to his girlfriend. He was at the foundation of the new garden, the flower and herb beds, the hornbeam labyrinth and children’s park, the pond, the bistro grill and outdoor space for social events, and even at the establishment of accommodation for 46 guests. The Chapel of St. Anne in particular presented quite the task for restorers and craftsmen. A reinforced concrete gallery had to be built around the dome before the newly replaced beams could hold the new roof. The representative room on the first floor was also sensitively repaired, bearing valuable frescoes from the life of Václav Vratislav of Mitrowicz; as a fifteen-year-old squire, he set off with a message from Emperor Rudolf II to Constantinople, where he was taken captive. He recalled his travel experiences in the book entitled “The Travels of Václav Vratislav, Free Lord of Mitrovice”.
Nearly seven thousand tons of rubbish and debris had to be removed from the site, a new utilities network had to be installed, and the entire park had to be drained. The chateau’s rebirth was recognized in 2017 as the victor in the CzechTourism competition for best tourist attraction in the Phoenix category, intended for buildings “resurrected from the ashes”.
The unique and romantic atmosphere of the chateau makes it a popular venue for weddings. You can even arrive by water, since the complex has its own pier near the castle.
Financial support from the South Bohemian Region and the Ministry of Culture covers only about one-tenth of all costs, but there’s plenty of positive energy here to go around for everyone. If you visit, the enthusiasm is sure to infect you as well.
Nearby tips: Netěchovice In Netěchovice, on the outskirts of Týn nad Vltavou, lies the South Bohemian Agricultural Museum. The “Agromania” program shows children and adults how crops are cultivated and grain is processed, and it introduces them to how people worked on fields and meadows both historically and nowadays.