Osek - Chateau

Osek is a Baroque chateau converted from an older fortified manor house. It stands in the centre of the village Osek, 4 km north of Rokycany and it has been listed as a cultural monument since 1964. The chateau stands in the middle of the former grounds of the state farm. Overall, this is a very valuable rural manor house with a complex building development and a significant Renaissance and Baroque building phase.

The oldest Osek manor house probably existed during the life of Budivoj, mentioned in the year 1240. However, we know nothing more about its appearance and location. The first direct report about the local fortified manor house dates back to 1572. It stood in the place of the north-eastern corner of the chateau, where part of it has been preserved to this day. In the second half of the 16th century the manor house was enlarged and rebuilt in the Renaissance style.

The Baroque reconstruction of the chateau took place around 1689 under Přibyslav Malovec of Chýnov. In 1681 Ferdinand Leopold Nostic acquired the farm and the chateau through marriage and added a three-storey tower to the chateau (circa 1689). The Nostic family owned the chateau until 1734 and after them it was owned by the Šternberk family. The property changed hands several more times, eventually belonging to the Colloredo-Mansfelds from Zbiroz. When the land reform was carried out on the Colloredo-Mansfeld estate between 1922 and 1925, a so-called residual farm was created in Osek, which was bought by Jan Kozel in 1935. After the war the chateau was nationalized, all the equipment of the chateau was taken to an unknown place and the chateau complex was adapted for the needs of the local state farm and turned into barns and warehouses. Part of the chateau was changed into apartments.

The original owners, to whom the castle was returned as part of the restitutions, gradually started repairing the ruined building. Many efforts were made to restore the most damaged parts, including the gate with an ornate Baroque gable and the park, which was used in the past as a field for growing potatoes. The current owner of the chateau, Mrs. Jana Pěnkavová, is continuing with the repairs. The castle is not open to the public.