Hloubětín Castle, Gothic Revival château in Hloubětín, Czech Republic.
Hloubětín Castle is a one-storey Neo-Gothic building with a three-storey tower, dating from the second half of the 19th century, in Prague's Hloubětín district. Its core may be older, possibly medieval. A crenellated wall and a small watchtower stand at the corner of the promontory. The facade bears a coat of arms invented by owner Vladimír Židlický.
A medieval stronghold on this site was burned by Swedish troops in 1648. In the 1870s the lawyer Václav Linhart built a Neo-Baroque villa here, which František Sedláček later began converting into a Neo-Gothic château. Vladimír Židlický added a corner turret and a crenellated wall, and after 1945 the building served as a joinery workshop, warehouse and theatre.
The castle belonged to the Jewish Community before World War II, was expropriated during the occupation, and was returned to the community in 1990. It was then leased to a private gynaecology clinic that achieved success in assisted reproduction. Every September, families of children conceived by IVF gathered at the castle.
The castle is located in eastern Prague and is reachable by Tram 16 to the Hloubětín stop, from where a marked path leads to the entrance. The area around it is straightforward to walk through.
The first baby box in the Czech Republic was put into operation here on 1 June 2005. During nearly 15 years at Hloubětín it helped save 28 children. When the GynCentrum clinic moved to Libeň, the baby box moved too, and since 5 December 2019 it has operated at Královské Vinohrady University Hospital.
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