Places Linked to the Birth of Czechoslovakia – Where to Find Them

Brandýs nad Labem and the Final Generations of the Habsburgs

The Renaissance chateau in Brandýs nad Labem, with its beautifully preserved sgraffito decoration, belonged to the rulers of the Habsburg monarchy until 1918. Its historic interiors still offer a vivid glimpse into the lives of the emperors and members of the imperial family who stayed here.

One of its most famous residents was Emperor Rudolf II, ruler of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Bohemia, who used Brandýs as his principal residence outside Prague. Emperor Charles VI also visited the chateau on several occasions. A keen hunter, he found the surrounding landscape particularly appealing thanks to its extensive and renowned game reserve. It is therefore hardly surprising that Brandýs was later considered as a possible summer residence for the presidents of the newly established Czechoslovakia.

In 2023, a major revitalisation of the chateau gardens was completed. The project included the restoration of the historic greenhouse and the planting of new trees and shrubs.

Konopiště and Archduke Franz Ferdinand d’Este

Konopiště Chateau, whose origins date back to the 13th century, was purchased in 1887 by Archduke Franz Ferdinand d’Este, who became heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne in 1896. He transformed the residence in a historicist style, redesigned the surrounding grounds as an extensive landscaped park and created the Rose Garden and its greenhouses on the site of an earlier Baroque garden.

Much of the chateau still reflects the period when Franz Ferdinand lived here with his family. Its interiors feature, among other treasures, an extraordinary collection of historic weapons and armour, while much of the original furniture and decoration has also survived. Together with the gardens and surrounding landscape, they offer an unusually intimate glimpse into the archduke’s private life.

Franz Ferdinand’s assassination in Sarajevo in June 1914 shocked Europe. Austria-Hungary subsequently declared war on Serbia, setting in motion the chain of events that led to the outbreak of the First World War. Four years later, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed and independent Czechoslovakia was established on 28 October 1918.

Lány and the First President of Czechoslovakia

Lány, with its Baroque chateau surrounded by the forests of the Křivoklát region, was ultimately chosen as the presidential country residence thanks to its proximity to Prague and the excellent condition in which its former owners, the Fürstenberg family, had maintained it.

President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of independent Czechoslovakia, became deeply attached to Lány. He spent considerably more time here than in Prague and used the chateau as a year-round residence. For its architectural alterations, he commissioned Jože Plečnik, the prominent Slovenian architect who was also responsible for major changes to Prague Castle.

Lány soon became an important setting for political meetings and informal discussions, a tradition that continues to this day. Masaryk lived here until his death in 1937 and is buried in the local cemetery, alongside his wife Charlotte Garrigue Masaryk.

Today, Lány is not only an official residence of the President of the Czech Republic – the chateau is also open to the public. Visitors can explore the extensive chateau park and the palm greenhouse, dating from 1879, and since 2023 can also join guided tours of the representative rooms on the first floor of the chateau.

During the season, visitors can also follow the Lány Game Reserve Nature Trail, including a viewpoint overlooking an area inhabited by deer. The approximately 4.5-kilometre route begins and ends on the edge of the village of Lány and introduces visitors to part of the historic game reserve, a protected and enclosed section of the Křivoklát forests.

The restored 18th-century granary in Lány is home to the T. G. Masaryk Museum in Lány, part of the T. G. Masaryk Museum Rakovník. Its exhibitions introduce visitors to the life and legacy of Czechoslovakia’s first president and to the major historical events associated with his career.