The Žinkovy Castle from Plzeň has reopened to the public after years; it was bought by the Poděbrady Spa

Žinkovy - The romantic Žinkovy Castle in southern Plzeň will open to the public after many years. The cultural monument has been purchased by Lázně Poděbrady. They plan to open a café, bungalows, accommodation, and start regular tours in the renovated less than half of the castle this summer. The mayor of Žinkovy, Josef Karhan (Žinkovské SNK), said this to ČTK today. The recreationally oriented town with 870 residents greatly welcomes that the area with a 19-hectare forest park will be accessible. The purchase information was published by the server Novinky.cz.

The sale price is not known; the real estate agency had been offering it for 200 million CZK in recent years.

"I spoke with the general director of Lázně Poděbrady and with the owner's son. We are establishing cooperation and helping them get started," Karhan said. According to him, the spa wants to attract as many people to the area as possible, including their clients.

"It turned out the best it possibly could. It is definitely good news in the sense that it wasn't bought by someone who just wanted to have money tied up in the castle and keep it for themselves, which was the case with some previous owners," the mayor stated. According to him, Lázně Poděbrady has extensive experience in operating hotels and restaurants. They plan to provide accommodation in the heritage building, and in the future, wellness services. "So they really want to open the castle. It is a great opportunity to revive Žinkovy and the whole region," the mayor noted.

The castle has not been open to the public for about ten years, and the café later closed as well. "It ended abruptly; they tried to sell it. It was a closed place," the mayor noted. Currently, people are also not allowed into the fenced park.

"On our website, we have that (the spa) offers locals jobs in gastronomy, cleaning, and castle tours. They really want to get it operational and attract people," the mayor said. According to him, the outdoor parts and the roof have been reconstructed, and nearly half of the interior spaces have been reconstructed quality and sensitively. Half of the 12 bungalows are renovated, and the accommodation rooms are still above the restaurant.

Žinkovy is one of the largest private castles in the Czech Republic. In 2007, it was purchased by Crown Estates with Caribbean owners. They initiated reconstruction, apartments were built in the park, and a café was operational. However, according to the mayor, the castle was closed off six years ago and started being offered by the real estate network Christie's, whose partner in the Czech Republic is the Svoboda & Williams office. The original sale price significantly decreased to 200 million CZK.

According to Karhan, the castle from the second half of the 17th century is known among Czechs and Slovaks; during the previous regime, labor union vacationers used to visit. It was owned by the Lobkowicz, Harrach, and Škoda families. It has been a cultural monument since 1963. It has a residential area of 12,000 square meters, a renovated restaurant, a kitchen, and conference rooms. Since 1989, it has changed owners several times and deteriorated. It was completely closed from 1993 to 2007, and then again from 2019 onward.