Zámek Hořákov Chateau

Zámek Hořákov is located in a small village in the Klatov region and grows up in a landscape with a rich history dating back to the Middle Ages. Since the 14th century, the knighthood was built here by Jan Strkovec z Hořákova. From this period, two of the oldest rooms on the ground floor, which resemble its ancient past, have been preserved in the castle.

Today's appearance of the castle was created as a new building in a spirit of historical architecture in the last decades of the 19th century. It was built by Petr Kordík, a local investor involved in rail transport. But a difficult financial situation forced him to sell the castle to his son-in-law Peter Zipperer of Enggenthal. In 1891, he sold it to Bedřich Brábek.

The fate of the building changed significantly in 1897 when Josef František Černín z Chudenic acquired it. This owner decided to rebuild the castle and expand significantly - he added two side wings in the Art Nouveau style, which gave the castle its characteristic form. For Chernin he served as a holiday home where he could move away from rural life. Part of his property was the valuable library of his wife Marie of the Des Fours-Walderod family, who he had moved here. The library accounted for approximately 864 volumes and represented the cultivated interest of the owner in art and science; today, its parts are deposed at the nearby Kozel Castle.

After the First World War, the castle's heritage belonged to the Countess Schönborn. But their ownership ended after World War II, when the castle was confiscated on the basis of Benes' decrees. In the subsequent decades until the 1990s, the building served as a children's sanitarium, a remarkable chapter in its history.

From an architectural point of view, the castle is an example of Art Nouveau extensions, which are especially reflected in the lateral wings. The inner spaces are treated as flat ceilings, except for the two oldest rooms on the ground floor. The original mobility guy didn't preserve himself. The castle is surrounded by a historical park and is supplemented by economic buildings - barns and stables that form the traditional look of the rural area.

Since September 22, 2010 the Hořákov Castle has been protected as a cultural monument. It represents an interesting example of the transformation of a medieval fortress into a representative Art Nouveau mansion and tells the story of alternating owners and their governments. The visitor can follow the layered history of Czech nobility, changing tastes and fate of property in the turbulent history of the 20th century.