The history of Fryštát chateau evidently began when Fryštát was awarded town status. Nowadays, Fryštát is no longer a separate town but forms an integral part of Karviná. It is likely that the first structure on the site was a wooden Gothic castle founded by the Piast princes of nearby Těšín. Fryštát became the second residence of the dynasty after Těšín itself. When the wooden castle burned down, a Renaissance chateau was built in its place and continued to serve as a residence for the princes. In the 15th and 16th centuries the chateau served the dukes of Těšín, who granted a wide range of privileges to Fryštát. Contemporary chronicles tell of significant refinements being made to the building during the residence of Ofka and Anna of Těšín, the widows of Těšín princes. In 1511, however, the chateau was hit by a fire which destroyed it completely, and the building that replaced it was considerably less grand than its predecessor. A later owner of the chateau, Bedřich Kazimír, took a dislike to it and had a beautiful Baroque chateau built in nearby Ráj, moving there in 1570. Unfortunately, he led an extravagant lifestyle; the estates were plunged into debt and after his death Fryštát had to be auctioned off.

In 1572 the chateau was bought by the provincial governor Václav Cikán of Slupsk. Now, after a long period of ownership by an important aristocratic dynasty, it passed into the hands of a lower-ranking official. The governor brought prosperity to his estates by encouraging various trades such as fishing and brewing, but he did not restore the chateau. In 1617 Fryštát was damaged by fire and the period of the Thirty Years War brought devastation both to the chateau and to the entire surrounding region. The governor’s family were Protestants and so in 1637 they were forced to leave Fryštát.

The rapid succession of owners in the following years did not create favourable conditions for the regeneration of the chateau. The Catholic nobleman Zdeněk Žampach of Potštejn became the new owner, only to sell Fryštát two years later. Neither did any real improvements come about during the residence of Prince Jindřich Václav of Minstrberk (a descendent of King Jiří of Poděbrady), and the building continued to deteriorate. In 1650 the Gašíns of Gašín bought the chateau, which finally became a family seat once more. During the 11 years following 1738, however, a total of four owners succeeded each other in charge of Fryštát.

In 1749 the chateau, which by this time was in a lamentable state, came into the hands of the Irish nobleman Nicholas Taaf of Carlingford. It was under his insensitive rule that a peasant revolt broke out in 1766, leading to the issuing of a reform decree for Silesia in 1771 which relieved the peasants of some of their duties towards their feudal overlords. A fire in 1781 caused such serious damage that the owners moved permanently to the chateau at Ráj. The chateau was eventually auctioned off again to pay bills. In 1792 Fryštát was bought by the Count of Larisch-Mönnich, whose family had resided on the Karviná estates since the 16th century. The chateau was to remain in their hands until 1945. The new owners held important provincial and court positions, and were very influential at the imperial court. They began to invest heavily in the regeneration of the estates, establishing a sheep-breeding farm and planning an extensive reconstruction of the chateau. On its completion in 1800, the chateau was a fine example of the pure Empire style. An ornamental park was built in front of the main building, with a stone fountain at its centre. On the south side of the chateau an English-style park was landscaped, and a family tomb was built by the wall of the parish church. Later the chateau washrooms and laundry rooms wee completed, along with a summerhouse in the Swiss style by the stream. The damage caused by a fire in 1823 was repaired immediately, and work continued on the park.

The 1860s were a period of further development for the chateau, when it was refined to better reflect the high status of its owner, Count Jan, who in addition to holding many titles and orders was also the Austrian finance minister and a hereditary peer in the upper house of the Austrian Imperial Council. It was at this time that work began on a grand new neo-Renaissance chateau in the Solca district, which was completed in 1873 and became the family home. It was even visited by Crown Prince Rudolf. In the meanwhile the Fryštát chateau served as the home of the Count’s nephew Jiří Larisch. He lived there for a short while with his wife Marie of Wallersee, a niece of Empress Elisabeth who was closely involved in the Mayerling scandal and the death of Prince Rudolf.

Under Count Jindřich’s ownership in the early 20th century Fryštát played host to many outstanding figures of the time, including Archduke Ferdinand d’Este, the heir to the Austrian throne, the German Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand. The Larisch estates included coal mines which had been founded when high-quality coal was discovered in the area at the end of the 18th century. The last owner of the chateau, Count Jan, who was born at Fryštát, moved permanently to the chateau at Solca, and from then on Fryštát was used only for occasional visits.

In 1945 the chateau was confiscated and became the property of the Czechoslovak state. It was used as the headquarters of the local coal mining board and later as the town council offices. Part of the confiscated inventory was transferred into the collections of various chateaux, museums and libraries, part of it was sold and some items stolen. During the 1950s and 1960 insensitive and often tasteless modifications were made to the building.

In 1990 both the chateau and its park passed into the ownership of the town of Karviná. After an extensive reconstruction of the main building which lasted from 1994 to the autumn of 1997, the chateau was finally re-opened to the public. Although at first the future role of the site was not clear, thanks to Dr. Roman Nogol and Dr. Alexandra Rebrová from Karviná Town Council much of the confiscated original inventory from two other former Karviná chateau – Solca and Ráj – as well as from Fryštát itself – has been recovered. Fryštát chateau now houses a permanent exhibition of aristocratic life from the 16th to the 20th century.

The next stage in the reconstruction project was the renovation of the neighbouring Lottyhaus, which was opened to the public in September 2003. It houses part of the chateau’s permanent historical collection as well as a branch of the Prague National Gallery with an exhibition of Czech 19th-century art. You can find out more about the history of Fryštát in the range of books and leaflets published by the heritage management department of Karviná Town Council.

Source: Dr. Alexandra Rebrová: Fryštát Chateau