Featured Location: Cechy pod Kosirem Chateau

This four-winged classical building features a wide staircase that extends from the main hall directly into one of the most beautiful romantic parks in the Czech Republic. The English park features two ponds, the pseudo-Gothic Red Tower, and the Classicist Manes Pavilion inspired by the painter Josef Manes, who stayed here and influenced the appearance of the chateau and the park.

Photo: Czech Film Commission

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The most beautiful romantic park in the Czech Republic

The large park, extending over an area of 21 hectares, remains essentially unchanged from its original 19th-century composition when the then owner Frantisek Josef I Silva-Tarouca began building a natural landscape park in the English style around the chateau.

Upon descending into the park down the staircase from the Great Hall, a view of the hill crowned by the brick Red Tower, which serves as a lookout tower, greets visitors. Looking across from the lookout tower towards the other side of the chateau, you will see one of the two bodies of water in the park, the Great Pond. The Small Pond lies to the right, and from it, there is a beautiful view of the west wing of the chateau with its two towers.  

The influence of Josef Manes on the appearance of the chateau and the park

A path leads from the east wing of the chateau through the park to the Manes Pavilion. The small Classical gazebo with an oval floor plan houses a collection of works by Josef Manes with the theme of the Hana region in Moravia.

During his frequent stays at the chateau between 1849 and 1870, the painter created numerous works, some of which now decorate the Great Hall. The owner of the chateau even had a chapel built in 1854 based on a design by Manes.  

Pseudo-Gothic Orangery

The painter’s style also influenced the form of the mid-19th century orangery. Situated adjacent to the extended east wing of the chateau, its facade is decorated with a trifolium with coats of arms designed by Manes.

The renovated orangery, with an area of 200 m², is rented out for receptions as part of wedding ceremonies held in one of the chateau halls or the park.

Partially renovated interior

The early 20th-century balustrade on the chateau’s south wing features four allegorical statues of the goddess of spring, art, science, and harvest above the staircase leading to the park.

The chateau has 70 rooms, the largest of which is the Great Hall, measuring 96 m². Decoratively striped walls complement the inlaid floor with ornamental motifs. The room is furnished with a white tiled corner stove and period furniture.

The 77m² family gallery with a parquet floor and a green tiled stove is decorated with portraits of the former owners of the chateau and red upholstered furniture.    

Upon agreement, the interior furnishings can be used for filming. Some interiors have been reconstructed, furnished with historical furnishings, and opened to the public, while others are still awaiting reconstruction. 

Among the interesting rooms of the chateau is the 80m² barrel-vaulted walled cellar.

In addition to the period interiors, the chateau is also home to the Zdenek and Jan Sverak Museum, featuring costumes, sets, and props. There is also an exhibition of drawings by Josef Manes relating to the chateau and an exhibition of historic bicycles from the 19th to the early 20th century.

Parking, accommodation, and catering

Drinking water is available in the electrified building. A parking area with a capacity of 50 places is right next to the chateau, and another parking area for 100 cars is 300 m away.

Accommodation for smaller crews is available directly in Cechy pod Kosirem in the Pension Manes and for larger crews in the Slatinice Spa, 9 km away.

Other catering or accommodation options are available in Hluchov, 5 km away, Prostejov, 12 km away, or Olomouc, 20 km away.

Carriage Museum and the Velky Kosir lookout tower

The Carriage Museum, 500 m from the manor house, with an impressive collection of historic carriages, sleighs, and lanterns, opened in 2009.

The Velky Kosir lookout tower, 3 km away, overlooks Hana from its eponymous highest peak. A wooden staircase covered with sheet metal walls rises from the tower’s concrete plinth, where the operating facilities – a ticket office, a refreshment stand, and a souvenir shop – are located, to the observation platform at the height of 25 m. Next to the lookout tower is a wooden picnic shelter with a fireplace. The roads leading up to the lookout tower are passable by car, but a permit is necessary to access them. Electrical connections are available on-site.

Which films were shot here?

To date, only a handful of films have been shot in the Cechy pod Kosirem chateau: two biographical films about Josef Manes – the documentary Demoni Josefa Manesa (The Demons of Josef Manes) in 2021 directed by Michael Kabos and the biographical drama Paleta lasky (Palette of Love) from 1976 directed by Josef Mach.

In addition, Jan Haluza’s 2013 amateur film Pripady pro Jachyma Semise (Cases for Jachym Semis) was made here, and in 1983 Antonin Kopriva’s drama Zamek Nekonečno (The Chateau of the Endless).

Cechy pod Kosirem was the Czech Republic Monument of the Year 2019

Thanks to the public’s votes, the reconstructed chateau and orangery won the Opera Historica award and became the Czech Republic’s 2019 Monument of the Year. The chateau, situated 20 km from Olomouc, is an exceptional filming location with its beautiful English park and unique genius loci. The management of the chateau looks forward to welcoming you here for location scouting for your next project.  

Contact for filming in the Olomouc region:  

Olomouc Region Film Office, Michael Zacek (michael.zacek@centralaok.cz, +420 775 863 537) 

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