Bludov - Chateau

Chateau Bludov, a Baroque chateau with late Renaissance elements, lies in the village of Bludov, approximately 5 km southwest of Šumperk. It is a late Renaissance three-winged building, given a Baroque look at the beginning of the 18th century. The forerunner of today‘s chateau was a fortified manor house, built sometime between 1568 and 1613.

The reconstruction of the one-tract fortified manor house into a Renaissance chateau took place only after Count Kryštof Pavel Lichtenstein - Castelkorn acquired the Bludov estate as part of the confiscation process that took place after the Battle of the White Mountain. The construction of the original chateau began in 1624 and took the form of the letter "L". In 1708 a third (northern) Baroque wing was added and the whole chateau was modified in the Baroque style. Two years later, in 1710, Count František Antonín Lichtenstein - Castelkorn sold Bludov to Count Jan Jáchym of Žerotín. During this period Bludov Chateau served only for occasional visits as the Count had his main seat at the chateau in Velké Losiny. In 1761 Count Josef Karel of Žerotín inherited Bludov and was responsible for the late Baroque reconstruction of the chateau which has largely retained this appearance to the present day. From 1802, after the sale of the estate and chateau in Velké Losiny, Bludov became the main residence of the Žerotín family.

The estate was taken over in 1845 by Count Zdeněk Arnošt of Žerotín, whose popularity led to him becoming the first Mayor of Bludov after 1848. Under him the last significant change of the chateau took place - part of the attic in the south wing was converted into a Neo-Gothic Hall (sometimes incorrectly regarded as a chapel) and used as a children‘s summer playroom. In 1898 his son Karel Emanuel undertook the reconstruction of the chateau‘s farmyard. Karel Emanuel was the last male descendant of the Žerotín family and so the estate and the chateau were inherited by his daughters Helena and Gabriela. The estate was confiscated from the heiresses and in 1949 the chateau was allocated to the municipality of Bludov, who used the chateau as the seat of its municipal office, post office and public library.

In 2000 the chateau was returned, under the restitution process, to a branch of the Žerotín family, the Mornstein-Zierotins. The chateau is now used as the family‘s residence, where they also organize various cultural events, offer accommodation and use the concert hall for wedding ceremonies and concerts of classical music. The recently renovated English landscape garden offers a pleasant walk among rare trees and is worth taking a look at.