Chateau Kunin - The "Moravian Mirabell"

It is one of the most valuable Baroque chateaus of all of Northern Moravia and Silesia. It was built in 1726-1736 by the counts of Harrach on old foundations. The architect was the famous Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt (who also built the beautiful chateau Belvedere in Vienna.) This residence became most well known when the countess Marie von Waldburg-Zeil (1762-1828) resided here. This lady became famous because she founded a very good and progressive school here- called the Filantropinum. One of its well-known students was the beloved Czech historian and patriot Frantisek Palacky.

Since that time the Chateau in Kunin (originally Kunvald) had many owners, the last one being Dr. Victor Bauer who died in Kunin in 1939. He was a friend of the famous Austrian architect Adolf Loos. Then came World War II and neglect. And the worst came when the Soviet army marched through. The soldiers rode on horses in the rooms, cut up paintings and burned furniture and books. In 2001 several members of the Bauer family arrived from America and together with the count Franz-Joseph Waldburg have been restoring the chateau so that it could be again opened to visitors.