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Chateau history
The present-day baroque looks of the chateau was forerun by a medieval fortress situated in the northwestern corner of today’s building. The Hrobcic family who got the estate from the Svamberks in 1560 lived in Manetin unlike previous owners. The town became the centre of the independent estate. Under Jeronym Hrobcicky Jr. of Hrobcice (+1604), shortly before 1600, the castle was enlarged and reconstructed into a chateau. The estate occupied a larger part of the ground area of nowadays chateau grounds including the park. Fragments of Renaissance painted decorations of exteriors show evidence of the representative character of the reconstruction. They were discovered during the reconstruction in May 1997 on the northern chateau wall near St. John Baptist’s church.
After the discomposed period of the Thirty-Year-War, under Karel Maxmilian Lazansky (1658 – 1695) some adaptations were done after 1670, which first trimmed away the Renaissance character of the building. They are partly dated on the gateway to the farmyard by the year of 1678.
Under Vaclav Joseph Lazansky and his wife Marie Gabriela there was High Baroque reconstruction which followed a great fire in 1712. It caught all downtown on 22nd September, starting at no. 92. It damaged the church, school, over a half of the houses, and the chateau which probably stayed partly inhabitable. The owners began a radical reconstruction soon. According to the last building-historical research the architect Thomas Hafenecker (1669 – 1730) gave the chateau and John Baptist’s church baroque character as well as urban conception to the square. He was a reputable professional and later imperial master builder. Hafenecker designed the chateau lay-out in 1712 – 1715 and he supervised the building nearly till the end, until 1730 when he died. His fellow countryman John George Hess, a foreman bricklayer from Reutt, Tyrol who came to Manetin with a group of bricklayers in the beginning of the second decade of 18th century, looked after the implementation. The chateau was markedly enlarged compared to the existing condition. A long oblong storey building was built in L pattern and together with the farmyard it formed the southern side of the square. The slab-sided frontage has 33 window axes and it is subdivided by three entrance gateways. In the western side the chateau is linked to the oratory of St. John Baptist’s church with a covered corridor.
The square character completely changed thanks to the baroque reconstruction. The existing slope was artificially leveled by three high ledges decorated with fountains and a gallery of baroque statues, sculptures and vases. The development in following centuries led to the town extension along both sides of the main road with the centre persevering without material alternations.
After 1945, the chateau was confiscated and given to the State Farm and Forest. It became the seat of State Forest headquarters and there were also its employees’ flats. In 1959, the chateau hall and the room that used to be a library were made available to public because an exposition of local museum was open there which was initiated by members of Manetin Fan Club. A part of confiscated chateau mobile property was returned in 1962 thanks to the Club leader Vaclav Zalman. The local museum became a part of the district museum in Marianska Tynice and its exposition was gradually enlarged and completed. In 1988, the district museum took charge of the chateau building and began its restoration. Since 1st January 2002, Manetin chateau including its park has been proclaimed the National historic landmark. Nowadays it is in charge of Pilsen department of the National Care of Historical Monuments.
