The Štiřín Castle has not been sold even after the sixth attempt

Prague - The Central Bohemian castle of Štiřín has failed to sell even on its sixth attempt. Once again, no one registered for the auction with a starting price of 982.6 million crowns, the Office for Representation of the State in Property Matters (ÚZSVM) stated in a press release. It also announced that it will prepare a new round of the selection process for the sale of the property located approximately 25 kilometers from Prague, which previously served the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The property office took over the Štiřín castle in June 2023. When no state institution showed interest, it offered it for sale. The first attempt took place last September, with a starting price of 3.3 billion crowns. In subsequent auction rounds, the price was gradually reduced, and part of the land in the castle park area was also removed from the sale offer. Despite repeated price reductions, no interested parties ever registered for the announced auctions.

The Štiřín castle, located about 25 kilometers from Prague, previously served as a hotel with a restaurant, wellness center, and golf course. Originally managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it announced that the complex was not needed and transferred it to the property office in June two years ago. At the time of the transfer, the office stated that the complex was closed. Last year, the office announced that no other state institution was interested in the castle, and therefore, it would begin selling to private parties.

The Štiřín castle was built in the mid-18th century. Its current appearance was acquired around 1900 after modifications according to the design of architect Jiří Stibral. The castle came into state ownership after World War II as a confiscation; prior to that, it had been owned by the Ringhoffer family for decades. After the war, it was briefly used by scouts. Between 1985 and 1993, modifications were made to the castle so that it could be used as a hotel.

The property office currently offers around fifty buildings for sale at auctions. One of them is the Prague castle of Veleslavín, for which the starting price is set at 303.45 million crowns. This castle is being offered by ÚZSVM for the fifth time, and no one has registered in previous attempts to sell it.

The auctions of properties with high starting prices organized by ÚZSVM have recently repeatedly ended unsuccessfully. Today, besides the Štiřín castle, the office also failed to sell the Prague National House in Vinohrady with a starting price of 760 million crowns. In January, the eighth attempt to sell the Prague Broadway Palace for 878 million crowns also ended unsuccessfully. Conversely, ÚZSVM was successful in selling the Prague house U Hybernů, which was auctioned off in March for 447 million crowns, making it the second most profitable sale in the office's history.