zámek Konice Chateau

The Konice Chateau is located in the southeast part of the city, approximately 21 kilometres northwest of Prostějova, on the outskirts of Zabranská and Drahan hills. In its place was originally a medieval fortress which guarded trade routes from Moravia and Silesia to Bohemia.

The Ves Konice is first mentioned in the 14th century fake reporting for 1200. In 1305 it was advanced by King Václav II. Adam from Cholina. The fort has been mentioned in the town since 1351, when it was owned by Ješek of Konice and registered to the wife of Cecilia of Cimburk. In the course of the time it passes between various noble families - since 1379 brothers Stepan and Ješek Kropač from Holštejn, from 1386 Actubor from Cimburk, then the Cimbrks belong to over two centuries. In 1446, it was bought by brothers from the Swabenice, whose family owns it until 1655. For the last time, the fort is remembered in 1618; It disappeared during the Thirty Years' War.

In the second half of the seventeenth century the estate fell and changed owners until in 1699 he bought the conical goods at the Hradisko Monastery near Olomouc. His Abbot Norbert Želecký z Počenic decided to build a new chateau on the site of the old fort. In 1705 a Baroque building was built as a summer residence of the Greek community. The construction was managed by Olomouc builder Lukáš Glöckel, who in 1702-1703 rebuilt the nearby Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary.

The one-storey Baroque building is characterized by a symmetrical facade. There is a double window above the entrance with a stone portal, three windows on the sides. Above it is a sandstone statue of Abbot Norbert's, with a monster and a palm tree. The four-wing courtyard is surrounded by Baroque arcades with cross vaults - open on the ground floor, glazed on the floor. The former dining room, today the ceremonial hall, is decorated with a fresco picture of the Lord's Dinner, perhaps from the workshop of Bedřich Diviš Strauss (1660-1720). In Konice preserved the coats of arms of the Knights of Swabenice and five of their stone tombstones.

After the abrogation of the monastery by Josef II. in 1784, the estate fell to the State Religious Fund. In 1825 it was purchased by the indebted and decrepit chateau of the Brno factory manufacturer Karel Příza, who made expensive repairs and moved here in 1830. His descendants, including Leopold Porta, owned him until 1945.

Today the chateau serves as a concert and ceremonial hall with a cultural centre and a single information centre in Konicku. In the exhibition of folk crafts visitors will discover nearly 500 pieces of different axes - the largest collection in the Czech Republic - and will view the largest axe in the country in front of the building. Both attractions are written in the Czech Book of Records.