The castle in Čechy pod Kosířem now belongs to the Olomouc region

Czechy pod Kosířem (Prostějovsko) - The castle in Czechy pod Kosířem is now owned by the Olomouc Region starting today. The contract for the gratuitous transfer was signed today at the residence of the nobility of the Sylva-Taroucy family by Governor Ivan Kosatík and the Director General of the Office for the Representation of the State in Property Matters Miloslav Vaněk.
    "We received the first offer in the summer of 2006, when the book value was 58 million crowns," Kosatík told reporters. At that time, the state offered the castle to the region, the city of Olomouc, or Prostějov. However, the local governments rejected it. Still, in December 2006, the regional representatives adopted a resolution stating they did not want the castle. They changed their opinion in September 2007, and this September, they definitively agreed to the gratuitous transfer. The municipality of Czechy pod Kosířem also aimed for the castle not to be acquired by a private entity, but by the region. More than 30 mayors of surrounding municipalities supported the initiative.
    "This is a pearl of Moravia that must remain preserved for future generations. We are not property managers or conservators, even though we have 164 monuments. The Olomouc Region is the most suitable entity to take care of the castle. It's a relief for us, as the 58 million was just on paper anyway, mainly that the park will not become a golf course, as it seemed at one point," Vaněk stated.
    The region plans to invest one hundred million crowns into the castle, which has one hundred rooms and a twenty-hectare park. The money is expected to be obtained for the first time from the so-called Swiss funds, which are part of the EU financial mechanisms. The reconstruction, including the museum of Josef Mánes and the conversion into a training center, is aimed to be completed within four years.
    Since 1954, a special school and children's home has been located in the building, which the regional authority relocated to the premises of the former Prostějov hospital. The castle has undergone many renovations, and its architectural value is not very high. However, experts note that its connection to the historic park, which is one of the most significant in the country, is very valuable. The English-style park was established in the second half of the 18th century and contains rare tree species, water channels, and floral nooks.
    For twenty years, the young noble painter Joseph Mánes taught there. The gene pool of the park in Czechy pod Kosířem was even the basis for the park in Průhonice near Prague.