Maleč
- Classification
- Château
- Pays
- Tchéquie
- Région
- Havlíčkův Brod
- Adresse
- Zámek Maleč, Maleč čp1, 582 76 Maleč
The late Renaissance chateau stands in the village of Maleč near Chotěboř in the Havlíčkův Brod district in the Vysočina Region. The chateau on the foundations of the original medieval manor was built by Jan Beneda of Nečtiny in 1602. Over the centuries it passed through numerous owners and was extended and raised by a second floor. In 1862 the chateau, together with the estate, was purchased from František Xaver Auersperg by the leading Czech politician František Ladislav Rieger as his summer residence, which he used for 40 years until his death in 1903. Rieger's father-in-law, the Father of the Nation František Palacký, spent the last 14 years of his life at Maleč and, among other works, completed here his most celebrated work, "History of the Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia." After 1948 the chateau, including the extensive estate, was confiscated by the Communists. Its last owner had been the grandson of F. L. Rieger, Bohuslav Rieger, and his wife Vladimíra Riegerová née Vondráčková. The status of Cultural Monument conferred upon it was of no help during the Communist era either for the use of the chateau or for its maintenance, care, and preservation of the complete furnishings. In 1995 the chateau with the estate was returned to the great-granddaughter of F. L. Rieger, doc. Věra Macháčková-Riegrová. The current owner is her son Václav Macháček-Rieger, who repaired and restored the considerably neglected chateau, including the remaining original furnishings, and in 2018 opened it to the public. He established an exhibition that is unique in its content, acquainting visitors through authentic interiors with the rich lives and work of both figures, who rank among the most significant in our 19th-century history. The results of their work and the values presented here evoke in visitors feelings of admiration, pride, and genuine patriotism. A pleasant complement is a walk through the English landscape park with its many mature and rare trees and the chateau pond.