{"id":25399,"date":"2024-03-13T11:06:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T10:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromplacetoplace.travel\/?p=25399"},"modified":"2024-03-01T12:25:39","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T11:25:39","slug":"manetin-castle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromplacetoplace.travel\/czech-republic\/plzen\/manetin-castle\/","title":{"rendered":"Man\u011bt\u00edn Castle – one of the most beautiful Baroque castles in the Pilsen region"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Please stay on the red carpet and, above all, don’t ask any questions – that will probably stick in my head forever. Our guide said this exactly 100 times during the tour of the beautiful baroque Man\u011bt\u00edn Castle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

But I wouldn’t have been able to ask any questions because the tour was only in Czech and we had the German text in a folder in front of us. It’s a shame that this is my first memory of the visit, because the castle is really worth seeing and I can only recommend a visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrival at Man\u011bt\u00edn Castle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Man\u011bt\u00edn Castle is located in a small town about 30 kilometers from Pilsen. The town square in front of the castle in Man\u011bt\u00edn is beautiful. It is decorated with stone sculptures by the sculptor \u0160t\u011bp\u00e1n Borovec and his pupil Josef Herscher. We can still admire their works here today – figures of saints, stone vases, fountains or allegories of virtues. From the square, I have a great view of the street front of the castle. It really is bigger than you would expect for such a small town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Platz<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you go through the archway, you reach the castle park. It is laid out in the style of a French garden with an English park. From here, the castle looks much more inviting and friendly to me. In the southernmost corner of the park are the buildings of the former brewery and the granary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Schlosspark\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A brief history of the castle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first written mention of Man\u011bt\u00edn dates back to 1169, when the Bohemian King Vladislav I donated the town and its surroundings to the Order of St. John.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They lived in the town until the beginning of the 15th century and only left after the Hussite Wars. Secular rulers took over the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Schloss<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The chateau in Man\u011bt\u00edn changed hands at first, but was taken over by the Hrobschitz family. In 1622, the La\u017eansk\u00fd family took over the estate and remained the owners for over 300 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September 1712, there was a devastating fire that severely damaged the chateau and the town. During this time, Count Wenceslas Josef Lazansky and his young wife Maria Gabriela Lazansky lived there. The then owner “seized the opportunity” and had the remains of the castle rebuilt and reconstructed in the Baroque style. The result was a castle complex with an elongated L-shaped ground plan. The count died three years after the catastrophe and the entire responsibility fell on his then twenty-year-old widow. Man\u011bt\u00edn experienced its greatest heyday under her rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Schloss<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There is a story that is still told about the countess today: It is said that Countess La\u017eansk\u00e1 had a vice, and that was her love of gambling. Once, while playing cards, she even bet the entire estate. The waiter Kar\u00e1sek – who looked into the cards of all the players while pouring the wine and realized that the countess would lose the game – decided to intervene. He knocked over the table with the wine. That was the end of the game and the countess was able to keep her possessions. After the countess realized who had saved her from her loss, she gave her servant a mill on the St\u0159ela River, which is still called the Kar\u00e1sek Mill today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sonnenuhr\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Man\u011bt\u00edn Castle was only nationalized after the Second World War. It was converted into apartments and offices for the state forestry department. Later, a small local history museum was established. At the end of the 1990s, it became possible to take part in guided tours of the castle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tour of Man\u011bt\u00edn Castle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The guided tour of the castle begins in the beautiful staircase. The main staircase features an impressive banister and some beautiful statues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n