Svojšice Castle, Cultural monument in Svojšice, Czech Republic.
Svojšice Castle is a Baroque-Classicist four-wing building with a closed square courtyard in Svojšice, Kolín District. The east and south wings were raised to two storeys in 1847, while the west and north wings remain single-storey; corner towers rise two storeys on the west and three on the east. Glazed arcades line the north and west courtyard wings, the south and east arcades are walled up and only marked on the facade, and remains of the old fortress moat survive around the building.
Anna Kamila of Enkenfurt began an early Baroque castle after 1638 on the foundations of a derelict fortress she bought from Karel Eusebius Mracký. Michal Osvald of Thun-Hohenstein completed it in 1678. After a fire in 1751 it was rebuilt in Rococo style in 1755–1758 by Ignác Jan Nepomuk Palliardi, who added a storey, corner towers and mansard roofs. In 1847 Michal Josef of Althann raised the south and east wings and the east towers by one storey in Classicist style.
The castle is owned by the City of Prague, not the heritage institute. From 1923 the Althann family gave it to the Order of English Virgins, who adapted the ground-floor interiors for charitable work; from 1945 to 2020 it served as a retirement home and social institute for people with mental disabilities. In 2021 it was vacated and offered for sale as surplus property.
The castle stands in Svojšice in the Kolín District, owned by the City of Prague and offered for sale since 2021 as surplus property. It was vacated in 2021 because of its poor technical condition, so the interiors are not open to visitors; the grounds, park and garden can only be viewed from outside.
The castle maintains its position in the Czech Monument Catalogue under number 1000133599, establishing its role within the national preservation framework.
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