Pravonín - Chateau

The village of Pravonín in the Benešov region once belonged to the Premonstratensian monastery in Louňovice pod Blaníkem, which ceased to exist at the beginning of the Hussite wars. Pravonín became a royal fief, and its fief status was ended by Emperor Rudolf II in 1578 – at that time, Pravonín was transferred to the hereditary freehold of the sons of Jindřich Kekule of Stradonice. This created ideal conditions for the construction of a manor house and the Pravonín fortress undeniably stood at the end of the 16th century. Among the owners, it is worth mentioning Jan Ignác Caretto of Millesimo, who rebuilt the Renaissance fortress into a Baroque chateau, or Jan Václav Vejvoda of Stromberk, who adapted it to its present form by adding two new wings. An important owner of Pravonín was the music-loving Jan Pachta of Rájov, who hosted the composer Richard Wagner for several months in 1832. After 1945, the castle became the property of the state, which did not maintain it very well, and its decay continued even under private owners after 1990. Finally, in a practically dilapidated state, it was purchased by the Kladno company Thermogas Profibau at the turn of 2019/2020, and reconstruction began.