Chateau Hostačov

The first 600 years of history were golden times for the construction of the castle. The castle was founded in 1297 as a defensive fortress, built on an important trade route to Vilémov Abbey.

In the 16th century, Heřman Bohdaneč of Hodkov transformed it into a Renaissance castle. After the Thirty Years' War, the castle was occupied by Maxmilián Goltz, whose name is carried over from nearby Golčův Jeníkov. The premises were further developed by Baron Neupaurer, who in 1846 built a track to Hostačov and built the nearby sugar mill.

In the middle of the last century, with the advent of socialism, clouds began to gather over the castle. The chateau was nationalized and incorporated into the management of the nearby sugar mill (currently a paper mill). The chateau management did not show much interest in the chateau, so it was rebuilt into apartments for the employees' families. Without maintenance, it began to decay and tenants began to complain about the untenable conditions.

To preserve the reputation of social housing, the regime chose to demolish the castle. The 1967 survey even stated that the castle was not historically or culturally significant.

It is perhaps a miracle that one of the people who moved into the castle was Baron Horák, who was deprived of his castle in the Bohemian Highlands by the regime. He decided to resist and, in the desperate atmosphere of normalization, accomplished an amazing feat. He documented the historical value of the castle with his camera and, using this material, managed to convince the authorities to declare the castle a cultural monument.

Although he managed to save the castle from demolition, it was by no means a victory. The communist regime did not want to invest a penny in the castle, leaving it in a desolate and almost uninhabitable condition in 1989. The only inhabitants left at the castle were the elderly Baroness Horáková and a Roma family.

The situation after the revolution initially looked promising: the castle was renovated and the state operated a rehabilitation center for the sick. The original spirit of the place was gone, but the building was used and managed. Unfortunately, not for long.

Officials very soon calculated that running the facility was not profitable and the center was cancelled. Hostačov Castle was left at the mercy of time. It stood empty, waiting among hundreds of similar buildings to see if anyone would find it worthwhile to venture into its rescue.

The year 2007 marked the beginning of the true rebirth of the Haša family's castle. The family purchased the chateau and began its extensive renovation. Three years later, Chateau Hostačov opened its doors to its first guests.

After more than a decade of renovation and hard work, the chateau was finally restored to its original beauty, the perfect destination for those who like to relax in a beautiful rural setting, eat well, and spend time in a beautifully restored building with more than 700 years of history behind it, Chateau Hostačov is a dream.