Конопиште сарайы: тарихы мен мұражайы

Castle in Benešov, Czech Republic

Konopiště Castle (; , Schloss Konopischt) is a four winged, three storey castle located in Konopiště, now a part of the town of Benešov in Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It has become famous as the last residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro Hungarian throne, whose assassination in Sarajevo triggered World War I. The bullet that killed him, fired by Gavrilo Princip, is now an exhibit at the castle's remote museum.

The castle was apparently established around 1294 by Prague Bishop Tobiáš of Benešov as a Gothic fortification in the style of a French castle with a rectangular plan and round towers protruding from the corners, making the most effective defence possible. Accounts show that the Benešovic family from nearby Benešov were the owners in 1318, and that in 1327 the castle passed into the hands of the Šternberks. In 1468, it was conquered by the troops of George of Poděbrady after a siege that lasted almost two years. In 1603, the estate was purchased by Dorota Hodějovská of Hodějov, who made Renaissance alterations to the old gothic fortification. The Hodějovský family fortified their property because of their active participation in the Bohemian Revolt in 1620. Albrecht von Wallenstein acquired the castle, and after him it was passed to Adam Michna of Vacínov. Michna gained notoriety through his repression of the serfs, who revolted against him and conquered Konopiště in 1657. The Swedes occupied and plundered Konopiště in 1648, and the Vrtba family then purchased the dilapidated structure. After 1725, they had it transformed into a Baroque style château. Since 1921, the castle has been the property of the Czechoslovak and later Czech state, one of 90 such properties in state ownership. The Ministry of Culture was said to spend more than US$800,000 per year to maintain the castle, and it recovers about as much from entrance ticket sales and rental fees for occasional functions. In 2000, Princess Sophie von Hohenberg, great granddaughter of Franz Ferdinand and his morganatic wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, filed a lawsuit seeking restitution of the castle to the Hohenberg family. The lawsuit, filed in Benešov, sought restitution of the castle, of woodland and a brewery. a shooting hall with moving targets, and a garden with Italian Renaissance statues and greenhouses.

Part of the film The Illusionist was filmed in Konopiště, the prince's castle in the movie.