Hradek u Nechanic

Hradek u Nechanic was built between 1839 and 1857 for Count Frantisek Arnost Harrach, who wanted an English country house and pursued the idea literally: the architect Karl Fischer worked in the Tudor Gothic manner, and materials, fittings and craftsmen were brought from England, with the roof tiles, some of the stonework and the interior joinery imported. The interiors were then furnished with pieces the family bought across Europe - Renaissance carved panelling and ceilings taken from older buildings and reinstalled here, Gothic furniture, tapestries, arms and glass, assembled to make rooms that look older than the house. That practice of buying and installing historic fabric was common in the period and this is one of the better examples of it. The park runs to about two hundred and thirty hectares in the English landscape manner with a golf course now on part of it.

What you actually see

• Tudor Gothic built with English materials - tiles, stone and joinery shipped over.
• Reinstalled historic interiors - Renaissance panelling and ceilings bought from older buildings.
• Collected furnishing - Gothic furniture, tapestries, arms and glass across Europe.
• A 230-hectare English park - laid out with the house in the 1840s.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Guided tours only, seasonal, with separate routes. The historic-looking rooms are assemblages, not original to the house - which is the interest, but it surprises people. Closed Mondays.

Nearby

Hradec Kralove is fifteen kilometres east; Karlova Koruna is south-west.