*A short visit to the chateau, park area and Santini chapel at Panenské Břežany: 1 km*

• The Baroque chateau at Panenské Břežany (a small village just off the D8 highway 10 km north of Prague centre) is definitely worth a visit, particularly for anyone interested in recent Czech history or the architecture of the celebrated Czech-Italian architect, Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel.
• The chateau was built in the early 18th century as a summer residence for the abbess of the Benedictine monastery of St. George at Prague Castle. During its construction, Santini was commissioned in 1705 to design a chapel in the park area behind the chateau. Despite it being an early work of this famous Baroque architect, the chapel of St Anne is one of Santini’s most beautiful pieces.
• The chateau changed hands several times after the dissolution of the monasteries by Emperor Joseph II in the late 18th century. One of the owners in the late 19th century included the Austrian industrial family, the Bloch-Bauers. Adele Bloch-Bauer was famously painted (twice) by Gustav Klimt in the early 20th century (the first portrait sold for a then world record sum of $135 million in 2006).
• The history of the chateau features briefly in the museum located within the main chateau building. Most of the exhibition, however, is dedicated to the Czech resistance movement during World War II. The Baroque chateau at Panenské Břežany was actually the main residence of the Czech/German politician K. H. Frank for much of the war. Frank became the Minister of State for the Protectorate of Bohemia in 1943 and was executed for war crimes in 1946. The dual language Czech/English exhibition is well done and certainly worth visiting.
• The park area surrounding the chateau (where St Anne’s chapel is located) is relatively small and at the time of writing (February 2024) was being renovated. However, when the renovations are complete the stroll around the English style park (which will be stroller friendly) will be a fine addition to a visit to the museum and chapel.
• This is a highly recommended short trip out of Prague. There are regular bus connections to Panenské Břežany from the Prague metro station, Kobylisy. For drivers, there is a small parking area, next to the bus stop. At present there are no refreshment facilities at the site, but it appears that a snack bar is being created in the park as part of the extensive renovations.

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Directions

• The chateau is reached just 100m from the bus stop/car park and the walk around the park and to the chapel requires no addition directions