Žinkovy - Chateau

Žinkovy Castle is located 1.5 kilometers southeast of the town of the same name in the Plzeň-South District. It occupies a picturesque setting next to a pair of ponds and has been a cultural heritage site since 1963.

A manor house in Žinkovy existed as early as the last quarter of the 12th century, but its location is unknown, and after the construction of the nearby, younger Potštejn Castle, it remained in its shadow. It was not until Přibík of Klenové built a new late- Gothic moated fortress with an outer bailey by the pond, first mentioned in 1525. It consisted of a tower and a residential palace connected by a defensive wall, surrounded by a moat, and accessible via a drawbridge. Přibík’s descendants, who held the fortress until 1712, gradually transformed it into a three-winged, two-story chateau. In the 18th century, the Vrtba family of Křimice owned the Žinkov estate. They made minor alterations to the castle and, in the early 19th century, added the so-called New Castle (later a brewery). They were succeeded by the Lobkovic family and Count Jan Nepomuk František Harrach.

The castle’s current stately appearance, in a historicist style incorporating Neo-Gothic and Neo-Renaissance elements, was given to Žinkovy in 1898–1899 by its owner, the Viennese architect Karl Wessely, through the Fellner & Helmer studio. Following this extensive renovation, the castle attained its final form. In 1915, the estate was purchased by industrialist Baron Karel Škoda; his family resided there until 1945, when the property was nationalized under the Beneš Decrees.

During the socialist era, the castle served as a recreational facility for the ROH (in 1952, the fairy tale *The Proud Princess* was filmed here). After 1989, it passed through the hands of several private owners; it is currently owned by the company Lázně Poděbrady.