Stepanov - Czech-Moravian Highlands, Czech Republic - Castles on Waymarking.com

The village of Štepánov is likely to have been founded by the Vilémov monastery. When the Hussites destroyed the monastery in 1421, the village was acquired by the Trcka family from Lípa. The first written record of Štepánov comes from 1556, when Jan from Predbor bought it from Vilém Trcka and attached it to the Studenec estate. In 1581 the village was inherited by Jan’s nephew Aleš Predborský from Predbor, who had a fort built at the site of today’s chateau.

After his death, Adam the Elder Predborský from Predbor possessed Štepánov from 1651. However, due to his participation in the Estates Rebellion between 1618–1620, his estate (Malochyne village, Harilova Lhota and first mentioned fort of Štepánov) was transformed into a fief in 1623. In 1628, before Adam went to exile, his son Aleš Predborský gave the family estate of Štepánov with the fort damaged by fire to his uncle Albrecht Hylebtrant Lukavský from Lukavice.

After the fire before 1650, Albrecht Lukavský renovated the fort and in 1650 it was attached to the Studenec demesne, including the village of Štepánov ruined in 1626. The village came to life in 1699, when the estate of Štepánov became independent. It was acquired by Augustin Voracický from Pabenice and later purchased by Rudolf Haugvic from Biskupice in 1708. Last written records of the fort come from 1740, the time of his successor Jan Haugvic.

In 1744 Jan Václav Leveneur from Grunvald bought the estate of Štepánov with five villages. Somewhere in the second half of the 18th century the Leveneurs had the old fort torn down and built a one–storey late baroque chateau with two wings, a small tower and Virgin Mary chapel.

In 1853 the last member of the Leveneur family Antonín Vít sold the chateau to František Siegmund. He had new parts added to the building according to the project of František Schmoranz, a designer from Chrudim and the author of the neogothic reconstruction of the Žleby castle. A new floor was added in both garden facing wings in 1858, replacing the former wooden passage gallery. A staircase was built in the north-west wing and a new room was added to the south-east wing.

The last major reconstruction took place in 1936, resulting in a grand entrance hall comprising both floors, a long stylish balcony on the south-east wall and larger windows. Large technical area was built in the basement.

In 1948 the chateau was put under state control, assigned to the School of Agriculture and later used as a dormitory for secondary building school. It was returned to the original owner in 1993 and after substantial reconstruction between 1997-2001 it is now ready to serve many purposes.

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