Zámek Brandýs nad Orlicí Chateau

The castle in Brandýse nad Orlicí, not far from Ústí nad Orlicí, stands in a place where there was once a monastery of the Unity of Brethren and later a manor house. The Baroque building was constructed between 1781 and 1783 by builder Josef Tůma at the request of František Norbert from Trauttmansdorff.

The original plan was much more ambitious. The castle was supposed to have four wings with a courtyard, and the Trauttmansdorffs probably wanted to have a summer residence there. However, the plan fell through and only a small house for the administration of the estate was built. In 1806 it was purchased by Prussian princes from Lynaru, who had only an administrator in Brandýse.

The first owner who actually lived in the castle was Karel Blažek from 1817 onwards. He had the house modernly renovated, added southern arcades, and began building farm buildings around the castle. But in 1818 he died after falling from a horse. His wife Marie Magdalena had to sell the castle in 1831 due to debts.

It then belonged to Valdštejn Vartenberg from Litomyšle. In 1845 the railway arrived in the area and the romantic valley gained in attractiveness. In 1853 a son named Karel was born to administrator Václav Flieder, who later became a lawyer and helped build Czechoslovakia's legal system after its establishment.

In 1855 the castle was purchased by Belgian entrepreneur Alfons Michael Chimay. He probably lived in Žampach, but he was popular in Brandýse. He donated land and money for the very first monument to Jan Amos Comenius, built here in 1865.

The Parishes, owners from 1869, demolished Blažek's farm buildings and established a decorative pond with a fountain. Later Oscar Parish moved in with his wife. They had the lodge on the first floor glazed, the northern entrance bricked up, and the arcades renovated.

In 1912 the castle was purchased by doctor František Plch, who wanted to establish a restaurant there. However, he shot himself that same year. From 1914 it belonged to Karle Fischerová, widow of the general director of the sugar factory in Pečky. She had it rebuilt according to architect Alois Dlabač into its present neo-Baroque form. After the war, a third of the castle went to national administration, and on June 10, 1950, the entire castle was confiscated. Until 1957 it housed the Czechoslovak Sokol community, and later two dormitories.