The church is completing the renovation of the Břežany castle into a hotel

Dolní Břežany - The Prague Archdiocese is finishing the renovation of the castle in Dolní Břežany near Prague. The renovated complex is intended to serve as a four-star hotel. Costs are expected to rise to 230 million crowns, and the work is likely to be completed no later than mid-July, said the head of the archdiocese’s investment department, Vladimír Tylš, to ČTK today.

Originally, the hotel was supposed to open earlier, but builders encountered a problem with wood rot. The estimated completion date has been postponed to between June 30 and July 15. "At this moment, a replica of the tower's roof structure, which was destroyed by beetles - wood borers and woodworms, is being made. So the entire tower was assembled on the ground in front of the main entrance to the castle and is now being lifted in several pieces by a crane,” said Tylš.

According to him, the total costs have not yet been quantified. "However, we expect that it will stop somewhere around 230 million including the interiors,” he added.

The Renaissance two-story castle building stands on the site of an earlier fortified house. The current appearance is the result of the last renovation at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Archives show a rich agricultural background associated with the castle, including greenhouses, a water reservoir, gardens, a brewery, and gazebos.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the castle was purchased by Prague Archbishop Ferdinand Count Khünburg. Since then, the property has served as the economic and administrative center of the Lower Břežany estate, which was owned by the Prague Archdiocese for almost 300 years. It functioned as the economic and financial base of the Prague archdiocese. In 1945, the land with the buildings was confiscated by the state.

After nationalization, the castle was managed for ten years by the Ministry of Agriculture, then for about a year by the Ministry of National Defense, and afterwards until 1992 by the Ministry of the Interior. In the 1970s, barracks and training facilities were built near the castle for members of the Ministry of the Interior, emergency units, and so-called red berets, who were deployed against demonstrators on National Avenue in Prague on November 17, 1989.

Before 1989, a gas station, garages, warehouses, and a shooting range were built in the garden and park. As part of the restitutions, many lands and buildings, including the castle, were returned to the church.

The Prague Archdiocese collaborates with the municipality on its development. As a result, a new square was created in Dolní Břežany, the municipality acquired land for a new cemetery, and together with the archdiocese, developed a location for building family houses. The collaboration also enabled the construction of laser scientific centers ELI and HiLase. Recently, the archdiocese built an administrative and technological center for the Japanese company Rigaku in Břežany.