Bludov
- Clasificación
- Château
- País
- Chequia
- Región
- Šumperk
- Dirección
- Bludov č. 1, 789 61 Bludov
The Baroque château of Bludov, with late Renaissance features, is situated in the village of Bludov, approximately 5 km south-west of Šumperk. It is a late Renaissance three-wing building that was Baroquified at the beginning of the 18th century. The predecessor of the present château was a fortified manor constructed at some point between 1568 and 1613. The late Renaissance conversion of the single-wing manor into a château took place under Count Kryštof Pavel of Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn, who acquired the Bludov estate as part of the post-White Mountain confiscations. The original château, the construction of which began in 1624, was L-shaped in plan. In 1708 a third (northern) Baroque wing was added and the entire château was remodelled in the Baroque style. Two years later, in 1710, Count František Antonín of Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn sold the Bludov estate to the imperial count Jan Jáchym of Žerotín. During this period the Bludov château served only as an occasional residence for the lord, whose principal seat was the château at Velké Losiny. In 1761 Bludov was inherited by Josef Karel Count of Žerotín, under whom a late Baroque remodelling of the château was undertaken, giving it virtually its present form. From 1802, following the sale of the estate and château at Velké Losiny, the Bludov château became the principal Žerotín residence. In 1845 the estate was taken over by Zdeněk Arnošt Count of Žerotín, who was greatly beloved in Bludov and also became its first mayor after 1848. Under him the last significant alteration to the château was carried out: the conversion of part of the attic space in the south wing into a Neo-Gothic hall, sometimes erroneously identified as a chapel — it was in fact a summer playroom for children. His son Karel Emanuel initiated in 1898 a historicising reconstruction of the farm buildings adjoining the château. Karel Emanuel was the last male heir of the Žerotín family; the estate and château were inherited by his daughters Helena and Gabriela. The state confiscated the estate from the heiresses, and the château was allocated in 1949 to the municipality of Bludov, which used it as the seat of the municipal office, the post office, and the public library. In 2000 the château was returned in restitution to the Mornstein-Zierotín branch of the Žerotín family. Today it serves as the family's residence, which hosts various cultural events, offers accommodation, and whose concert hall is used for wedding ceremonies and classical music concerts. Also well worth visiting is the adjacent recently restored English-style park, which offers a pleasant walk among rare tree species.