The Property Office will offer the Štiřín Castle for the ninth time, having reduced the price to 720 million CZK

Prague - The Office for State Representation in Property Matters (ÚZSVM) will again offer the Central Bohemian castle Štiřín for sale in December. This is the ninth electronic auction, and in previous attempts, no one expressed interest in the property. The starting price in this round will be 720 million crowns, a decrease of 75.9 million crowns from the last attempt at the end of August. This information comes from the auction's website.

The auction will start on December 10 at noon and will last for 24 hours. Interested parties must deposit a security of 20 million crowns at least one day in advance to enter the bidding. For the auction to be successful, at least one bid must be made at the starting price. Additional bids can be made in increments of at least 50,000 crowns.

ÚZSVM took over the Štiřín castle in June 2023 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and subsequently offered it to other state institutions. Since none showed interest, the property office transferred the castle's furnishings to the National Heritage Institute and then offered the castle area at auction. The first round took place last November, with a starting price of 3.3 billion crowns.

In subsequent rounds of the auction, the office gradually reduced the price and excluded part of the land in the castle park area, which was taken over by Lesy ČR. "Land or parts of it that the municipality of Kamenice requested for planned sidewalk construction have been excluded from the current sale round," said ÚZSVM spokesperson Tereza Frančová to ČTK.

The 18th-century castle previously served as a hotel with a restaurant, wellness center, and golf course. It was originally managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which announced that it did not need the property and subsequently transferred it to the property office. At the time of transfer, the area was closed. The castle's current appearance was influenced by modifications around 1900 according to the design of architect Jiří Stibral and also by changes made between 1985 and 1993. For decades, it was owned by the Ringhoffer family, and the Štiřín castle came into state ownership after World War II as a confiscated property.

If the auction of the Štiřín castle is successful, it would rank among the most profitable sales in the history of ÚZSVM. The highest amount so far was brought by the October auction of the Broadway palace in Prague, for which a bidder offered 848 million crowns; the deadline is still ongoing, during which the tenant can match the offered amount. Previously, the most profitable sale was a transaction in 2015 when ÚZSVM sold the former monastery complex in Prague's Republic Square for 790 million crowns.