Kundratice Castle

About the Property

A Jewel in the midst of the majestic Šumava National Park, Czech Republic, which is not just one of the oldest but one of the best preserved and maintained mountain ranges in Europe. Kundratice Castle, located in the picturesque foothills of the Šumava National Park, surrounded by rolling hills, green meadows, and dense forests, offers ideal opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, cycling, and hunting during the spring and summer months. In winter, the castle provides access to cross-country and downhill skiing on the slopes of the nearby town of Hartmanice or in larger ski resorts located less than an hour’s drive away. HISTORY An elegant historic recreational country residence, tucked into the scenic green hills and dense forests of the majestic Šumava National Park, Castle Kundratice includes almost 69 hectars of surrounding hills and fields. The Šumava National Park, also known as the Bohemian Forest, is characterized by beautiful rolling hills and picturesque rocky ledges, which are also the source of the famous Vltava (Moldau) River, as in Smetana’s My Country (Má Vlast). It is the perfect country venue to relax from a demanding professional life and to entertain clients and friends in the spirit of its pre-Communist owners, the Hašek Family, for whom it served as a peaceful refuge for family and special guests such as former President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Eduard Beneš. Among its most notable visitors was Winston Churchill’s Daughter, Diana, and her husband Duncan Sandys, Head of the British Commonwealth and Jimmy Darton, Head of the International Finance Corporation, IFC. The Castle includes a majestic 1 hectare Park and a large Inner Courtyard, at the center of which is a historic mid-19th century fountain surrounded by a charming fully restored Guest House for extended family or visitors, a garage, a stable for sixteen horses with a cozy saddle room for riding equipment and a barn. An additional major haybarn with an updated roof is located on the other side of the Castle’s Park. The Castle has its own Hunt for red deer in Season, ”Honitba zámek Kundratice”, conducted by an experienced Forester who also manages the Castle Forest Property (which is currently not part of this sale). Kundratice Castle, located in the village that bears its name, is currently owned by Eliška Hašek Coolidge and is being offered for sale by Svoboda & Williams. Its history as a fortress dates back to the year 1360. In the second half of the 17th Century, the property was owned by the Knight Vilém Eichorn of Reichenbach who in 1675 sold it to Alex Mikuláš Šafman of Hamrles. It was around this date that the Renaissance Castle was built. In 1702 the property was acquired by Mary Francis Novohrad of Kolowrat. In 1709 Jan Nepomuk Kryštof František of Villani de Castello Pillonico turned the Castle over to Francis Carl Baron Villani who around 1840 perfected its modern Empire Style, which included the beautiful Chapel of Saint Anthony, which, robbed of its fine art and historic appointments, was torn down by the Communists in 1977. The Villani Family owned the Castle until 1865 when the owner became Willibald Huttary who later sold it to František Hašek, the Owner and President of the Hašek Bank in Prague (Bankovní Dům Hašek) and President of the Prague Stock Exchange. František Hašek was also a majority shareholder of the Melantrich Publishing Company which owned the largest newspaper in Czechoslovakia, České Slovo. In 1939, just after the Nazi invasion of the country, the Gestapo offered František Hašek a large sum of money for the sale of his majority shares in Melantrich to a German Bank. A strong Patriot, Hašek knew that the result of such a sale would mean that České Slovo would provide an invaluable tool for Nazi propaganda. He declined the sale in 1939 and again in 1940 and 1941. On June 5th, 1942, the Gestapo dragged him away in the middle of the night. His Family learned on radio BBC the following day that he had been executed by a Nazi firing squad. After his death, his wife, Eliška, took over the administration of the Castle and was responsible for its complete post-war restoration until the Communists took it away from her in 1948. Before the Communist takeover, Mrs. Hašek’s son, JUDR. Josef Karel Hašek (1911-2001), then President and Owner of his Father´s Bank, was invited in January, 1948, by U. S. Secretary of Commerce Averell Harriman to visit Washington and propose recommendations for expanding trade relations between the United States and Czechoslovakia. His return airline ticket to Prague for March 13th, 1948, was sadly never used because of the Communist Coup of February 25th. The confiscated Castle and its surrounding buildings, recently renovated by his Mother, were turned into a State Farm used for offices and apartments for farm employees and robbed of its precious art and elegant interiors. In 1992, Eliška Hašek Coolidge returned to Prague from Washington, D. C., where she has lived since October 1950 after her 1949 escape from Communist Czechoslovakia. In 1998, as she had promised to her Grandmother, she became a permanent resident of the Czech Republic, determined to use the knowhow from her 30 years’ service in the U. S. Government to help strengthen restored freedom and democracy in the land of her birth. From 1963 to 1980, Mrs. Coolidge served in the White House as Special Assistant to five U. S. Presidents and Director of the Office of Presidential Messages, which she set up in 1963. From 1980-1990 she served in the Department of State on Secretary Alexander Haig’s Personal Staff, then as ARA (Latin America) Liaison with Congress. Under Secretary George Shulz she became Assistant Chief of Protocol of the U. S. and finally Alternate Delegate to the Organization of American States (OAS). She retired from Government in 1990 to travel more freely to Czechoslovakia and in 1998 she set up Coolidge Consulting Services in Prague and began conducting her Courses in the Art and Management of Social Skills and Diplomatic and Business Protocol. She was honored in 2003 as a Prominent Czech Woman in the World by the Czech Senate, Charles University and the Lord Mayor of Prague. In 2006 she was asked to run for the Czech Senate. Narrowly defeated in the second round of the election process, she published a Czech Biography in 2006, Five American Presidents, My Czech Grandmother and I, which became a bestseller and was reprinted 10 years later in 2016 by popular demand. On October 28th 2017, she was decorated for her work by the Czech President Miloš Zeman at the Prague Castle National Day Ceremony. In 2019 she was honored as Lady Pro at Prague Castle by the prestigious Czech Civic Society COMENIUS. Mrs. Coolidge has replaced the roofs and managed the restoration of the Castle Kundratice including securing the source of its own drinking water. But it needs a greater investment of time and money than she is now able to provide. Mrs. Coolidge hopes to find a sensitive and caring buyer who will make Castle Kundratice a home worthy of its past and who will transform it into a glorious and happy future as a proud and distinguished part of the rich cultural heritage of the Czech Republic. The Castle’s furnishings, including furniture and decorative items, are not included in the sale, but can be purchased separately. For a detailed description of the castle’s interiors and the caretaker’s service house, please contact our office.