Hlubos - Chateau

Hluboš Castle, located 8 km north of Příbram, is a cultural monument whose history dates back to the 14th century (the first mention of the village is from 1355). The original Gothic fortress, first explicitly documented in 1502, belonged to members of the minor nobility, such as Jan Karel of Svárov; following the confiscations after the Battle of White Mountain, it passed to Karel Vtelenský of Vtelno, the Bechyně family of Lažany, and later to Jan Humprecht Račín of Račín, who consolidated the estate. A major turning point in the architectural development of Hluboš came in the 1770s, when the estate was owned by Johann Anton Hochberg of Hennersdorf. He had the old Gothic-Renaissance fortress demolished to its foundations (only the Renaissance cellars were preserved) and built in its place a large late Baroque chateau with a rectangular floor plan, two projecting side wings, and the Chapel of the Holy Cross. His son, Franz Anton Hochberg, established a private botanical garden and arboretum on the grounds in 1806, featuring a number of valuable tree species previously unknown in Europe. However, the Hochbergs’ extensive expenditures destabilized him financially, and in 1815 he obtained permission to sell the estate in a lottery. After a brief period of ownership by the Viennese burgher Jakob Hell, it was acquired by Prince Otto Victor Schönburg-Waldenburg. In 1872, the estate was purchased by Prince Öttingen-Wallerstein, during whose ownership the castle acquired its current architectural appearance. The original Baroque structure was preserved, but the facades were given a new Neo-Renaissance treatment with rustication and pilasters, and an English park was created around the castle. Its most famous period came after the establishment of Czechoslovakia. The Öttingens leased the castle to the presidential office, and in 1920–1921, President T. G. Masaryk had his first summer residence there. In 1925, Hluboš was acquired by Josef Kolařík, a factory owner from Příbram, whose family owned the castle until its nationalization in 1950. During the communist regime, the castle served successively as an army barracks, housing for uranium miners, and various schools, which led to the devastation and looting of the interiors. In 1994, the property was returned to the descendants of Josef Kolařík, who began restoration work and opened an exhibition dedicated to T. G. Masaryk. However, the castle closed in 2010, and after several changes in ownership, it is currently owned by the company CHATEAU MASARYK.