Castle Mníšek pod Brdy

The first written mention of the Mníšek pod Brdy Castle can be considered to be the entry in the Code of Charles IV "Majestas Carolina" from 1348. However, archaeological findings from the courtyard of the castle have shown that a building stood on this site as early as the end of the 13th or the beginning of the 14th century. It was probably a small castle surrounded by a wall and a moat separating it from the town. In 1487, Mníšek was acquired for more than 150 years by the important family of the Lords of Mitrovice. This family administered the manor and its yard throughout the 16th century, when extensive building work was undoubtedly carried out here. The oldest depiction of the castle dates from 1622 and, despite all the schematics, it probably shows the real appearance of the mansion as seen from the south. In 1639, General Baner's Swedish troops sacked the castle and burnt it and the courtyard.

Another crucial date is 1655, when the estate was bought from the Mitrovics by a noble Prague burgher, originally a tanner from Flanders, Servác Engel of Engelsflusse, who had the castle rebuilt in 1656-1672. This marked the end of a phase that has given the building its fundamental form and artistic character to this day, despite numerous and substantial younger modifications.

In the second half of the 18th century, under the Unwerths, a number of alterations were made. After the death of Ignaz Umwerth, the property passed to the Pachts of Rájov. However, due to family disputes, it was administered by officials of the county boards until 1838. In 1848 the castle was destroyed by fire.

In 1909, after the death of Count Schirnding, the property was acquired by his relative, Theodorich, the free lord of Kast of Ebelsberg, who undertook a major restoration of the castle according to a project from 1910-1911, which was drawn up by a leading Prague office headed by Matěj Blecha.

In 1945 the castle was plundered and subsequently confiscated. Afterwards, the building came under the administration of the Ministry of the Interior (1946), which often stored important and politically sensitive archive funds here.

In 2000, the building was cleared and handed over to the National Heritage Institute - the territorial department of Central Bohemia in Prague, which began extensive restoration.

The restoration of the chateau in Mníšek pod Brdy began in December 2000. It is a unique project that attempts to capture the condition of the castle at the beginning of the 1920s.