Manetin

Manetin is called the baroque pearl of western Bohemia because of what Marie Gabriela Lazanska did after a fire destroyed much of the town in 1712: she rebuilt the chateau and then commissioned an extraordinary quantity of sculpture for the town and the estate, mostly from the workshop of Stepan Borovec, so that saints, angels and allegorical figures stand along the streets, on the bridge, in front of the church and up the approach to the chateau - around thirty pieces in the town itself and more in the surrounding villages, which for a place of this size is without parallel in the country. The chateau interiors have painted rooms and a large group of servants' portraits, a genre almost nowhere else preserved, showing the household staff by name and office. The town is tiny and quiet and the sculpture is free to walk among.

What you actually see

• Baroque statues in the streets - around thirty pieces on bridges, squares and approaches.
• One patron's programme - commissioned by Marie Gabriela Lazanska after the 1712 fire.
• Servants' portraits - the household painted by name and office, a rare survival.
• A painted chateau interior - the rooms rebuilt after the fire.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The chateau opens seasonally on guided routes and closes in winter. The town is very small with almost no services. Public transport is poor. The sculpture is outdoors and weathered.

Nearby

Plasy monastery is east; Marianska Tynice is north-east.