Mšecký zámek Castle

Mšec, in the past also called Kornhauz, is a castle located in the same town in the Rakovník district. Its history is closely linked to the fates of Czech noble families and to the building of representative settlements during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The predecessor of today's castle was a Gothic fortress, which is supposed to be founded in the second half of the 14th century. The founder was probably Albrecht z Kolovrat, who acquired the Mosque estate before 1361. Albrecht and Markart of Vartenberk participated in the resistance against King Wenceslas IV, which had serious consequences. In 1388 or 1390 Kornhauz conquered the royal army, while this castle appeared for the first time in the springs. Albrecht z Kolovrat died in 1391, but the estate remained in the hands of the Kolovrat.

It is not certain that the old castle was later restored. The castle appears in historical sources only in 1548, when it was probably created by other members of the colostrat family. During the 16th century the owners gradually changed. From 1536 to 1538 he owned the castle Václav Budovec z Budova, later he was repossessed by Kolovraté. The last of them, John and Zdislav Abdon, gradually sold the estate. In 1569 it was purchased by Bedřich Mican from Klinštejn and the Solution.

Matyáš Štampach ze Štampachu became an important owner, who in 1586 paid for Mšec and other parts of the estate five fifty thousand kicks of Míšín grosches. As captain of the Slan Region and the Imperial Council needed a representative seat, he probably had the old castle demolished and in 1613 he built a new one under the direction of builder Fortini. The new chateau contained collections of weapons and exhibits from trips around Europe, chapel, library and archive. It also included a summer castle and a newly established branch. The estate was later inherited by Štampach's nephew Jan Rejchart, after whose death he was taken over by his brother Jan Henry. As a participant in the state uprising in the castle, he hosted Friedrich Falsky, for which he was sentenced to loss of half his property and had to leave Bohemia.

In 1634 Jan Jindřich was sentenced to the loss of the entire property and bought the castle Vratislav z Fürstenbergu. After his death, there was a dispute over property, which in 1662 won Jan Adolf I. ze Schwarzenbergu for 60,000 Rhine gold. The castle was in bad condition, so in 1675 its Baroque reconstruction started according to Dominika Spinetta's project. The tower was reduced already in 1664 and completely demolished in 1678. Further modifications were made between 1721 and 1724 by builder Pavel Ignác Bayer and later A. E. Martinelli. Construction modifications continued until the first third of the nineteenth century.

No visible remains have been preserved from the medieval castle. However, during excavation works in 1935 the remains of the masonry and round tower in the middle of the courtyard were discovered. Stampach's Renaissance chateau originally had four wings with willows, which spread around the central court enclosed by a tower gate. The facades were decorated with animal paintings and inscriptions. In a preserved form the castle contains three wings and a courtyard closed by a baroque wall with pilasters and blind arcades. The entrance facade highlights a flat risalite with an entrance portal. Since 1958, the castle has been protected as a cultural monument.