Chateau Loučeň

First note about castle Loučeň comes from 1223; it was built on an order of duke Arnošt from Valdštejn in Baroque style about five hundred years later - between 1704 and 1714. After that the castle changed many owners. In 1831 it was a property of Karel Anselm Thurn-Taxis who changed the original Baroque French style park into an English park. When the chateau was constructed in early 18th century, suspended garden terraces were created in its vicinity. However, we do not know the appearance of these Baroque structures. The only witnesses of the old times are two sculptural groups “Abduction of Proserpine” and “Aeneas Taking His Father from the Conquered Troy” made of sandstone. According to the photographs on old picture postcards, it can be assumed that in the axis of the chateau, there was a driveway lined with linden trees. In 1840-1844, the Baroque garden was reconstructed and extended and it became a natural landscape park in the English style.

In 1929 the castle was partly opened for public for the first time ever. After World War II the castle was confiscated and for example in the 50s it served as a seat of CSD (the Czechoslovakian democratic party). Since 2001 it is owned by a corporation called Loučeň which opened the castle for public again on the 7th of July 2007. The Loučeň Chateau, situated in a village of the same name located between Mladá Boleslav and Nymburk, is a listed Baroque monument dating from 1764.

The chateau was built by Karl Ernest Wald stein according to a design by František Maxmilian Kaňka. Its last owner was the Hotel Maxmiliana zámek Loučeň Thurn-Taxis family, which greatly contributed to the development of the region. The chateau’s park has an area of 16 hectares and it is one of the best preserved parks in the Czech Republic with the original features: fountains, small lakes, statues, garden houses and, above all, rare woody plants and beautiful trees hundreds of years old.

Part of the chateau complex is a well-maintained park, which is available for wedding and other parties and picnics, and the chateau`s Maxmilian Hotel, which offers its guests the traditional hospitality of the Czech countryside and excellent homemade cuisine. Set in beautiful scenery, the hotel is the ideal choice for wedding parties, romantic stays and summer holidays. The chateau also boasts Czech Republic first and only one in Europe unique complex of ten labyrinths and mazes. It was designed for Loučeň Castle by Adrian Fischer, the world famous creator of more than 500 labyrinths around the globe.