Konopiště is a state château near Benešov that grew out of a Gothic castle of the 13th century. It is managed by the National Heritage Institute. The château is known for its rich collection of furnishings, which according to the operator's website rank among the most valuable in Europe, and for its link with Archduke Franz Ferdinand d'Este.[1]
History
Konopiště was founded around 1294 near the family seat of Benešov, probably by the Prague bishop Tobiáš of Benešov. Modelled on French fortresses, the structure had cylindrical towers, an outer curtain wall, four gates and a drawbridge.[2] After the Benešovici family died out, Konopiště passed in 1327 to the Šternberk family, who held it for 275 years. In the 17th to 19th centuries a number of noble families succeeded one another at the château, for example the Hodějovští of Hodějov, Albrecht von Wallenstein shortly after the Battle of White Mountain, then the Michna of Vacínov, the Vrtba of Vrtba and the Lobkowicz family.[2]
The medieval structure was first altered at the end of the 15th century by Jiří of Šternberk and then at the beginning of the 17th century by the Hodějovští. In the 18th century the Vrtba family turned Konopiště into a Baroque residence.[2]
Franz Ferdinand d'Este
The château with its estate was bought in 1887 from the Lobkowicz family by Franz Ferdinand d'Este, who became heir to the imperial throne in 1896. He had it rebuilt in a historicist style and laid out the surroundings as a landscape park. In place of the earlier Baroque garden, the Rose Garden with its greenhouses was created at his initiative, and he placed in the château extensive collections, which he acquired as an inheritance from his Italian ancestors and through his own collecting.[2] The rebuilding at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries followed a design by Josef Mocker, and the château was given a Neo-Gothic appearance.[1]
According to the operator, the archduke is also known as heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, for his relationship with the Czech countess Sophie Chotek, for his passion for hunting and because of the assassination in Sarajevo. In it he was shot dead together with his wife on 28 June 1914; the assassination was carried out by the Serbian anarchist Gavrilo Princip. A month after the assassination Emperor Francis Joseph I declared war on Serbia.[1][2]
After 1921
In 1921 the Czechoslovak state acquired Konopiště from the archduke's heirs; the château and park were partly opened to the public. During the Second World War the main staff of SS units was based here. After liberation Konopiště was made accessible again.[2] The château has kept the form it took in the last rebuilding under Franz Ferdinand, and the furnishing of the interiors corresponds as closely as possible to its state at the time of his stay there with his family.[2]
Tours and collections
According to the operator's website, the château offers four tour routes, supplementary exhibitions (a themed exhibition, the Shooting Gallery and the Museum of St George) and a visit to the Rose Garden with its greenhouses, where roses awarded at shows are grown, along with tropical and subtropical plants.[1]
In mid-January 2025 the Ministry of Culture declared a 16th-century ceremonial shield depicting the conquest of New Carthage a cultural monument; it returned to Konopiště in 2021 from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It is on display in the château Armoury on Tour II and, according to the operator, is a unique example of painted armour by Girolamo da Treviso in the all'antica style.[1]