Kristin Hrádek, Historical château in Maxičky, Czech Republic
Kristin Hrádek is a Baroque hunting lodge built in 1734–1735 by Count Jan Josef of Thun-Hohenstein on a site called Hühnerhügel and named after his first wife, Marie Kristýna of Hohenzollern. The complex comprised the lodge, a forester's house and a gamekeeper's house; after 1990s reconstruction it serves as accommodation with a restaurant.
The estate was built in 1735 as a hunting house for the aristocracy and underwent several transformations across the centuries. It was eventually converted into a hotel while preserving its original structures and features.
The name refers to Marie Kristýna of Hohenzollern, first wife of Count Jan Josef of Thun-Hohenstein, who had the lodge built in 1734–1735; the German name is Christianenburg. The Thun-Hohensteins held it until 1945, and in the second half of the 19th century hunts here drew the Schwarzenbergs, Lobkowiczs, Nostitzs and Habsburgs such as Crown Prince Rudolf.
The lodge stands near the German border by Děčínský Sněžník, reached by a forest road through the woods of the former Děčín estate. It lies in the former border zone, so approach routes are long and winding. The building now serves as accommodation with a restaurant, and the surrounding forests are crossed by marked hiking trails.
In 1767 Count Thun appointed Pankrác Müller as border guard here; his task was to watch over the estate boundary with Saxony, protect the forests from thieves and guard the lodge itself. The building stands on a spot called Hühnerhügel, "Chicken Hill".
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