Imagine a time long ago. Knights and nobles walked where we stand now before the z\u00e1mek Jinonice. This place echoes with tales of centuries past. Z\u00e1mek Jinonice stands as a testament to Prague’s rich history. It is often called Jinonick\u00fd dvorec. It sits in the heart of the old Jinonice district.
Let’s journey back to 1088. Jinonice is mentioned in Vy\u0161ehrad Chapter’s founding charter. One hide of land and three subjects belonged to it then. The Czech king owned other properties and people in Jinonice. In 1207 P\u0159emysl Otakar I gave some estates to the Plasy monastery. Later in 1314 they were ceded to Frenclin from V\u011b\u017ee a Prague burgher.
V\u00edt Frovin owned a local yeoman’s court in 1398. It included four hides of land. During the Hussite revolution Prague citizens seized Jinonice. Ferdinand I confiscated it from them in 1547.
Ownership changed hands frequently. In 1598 Albrecht Prefferkorn z Ottopachu bought Jinonice fortress. He also acquired Butovice. From then Jinonice and Butovice shared a common fate. Some say Albrecht rebuilt the fortress. It had vaulted ceilings. It also had farm buildings with stables for eleven horses. There was a cowshed and three granaries with a large barn.
Albrecht joined the anti-Habsburg uprising. He was elected among the directors in 1618. He died the following year. Still he was posthumously sentenced to property loss. The Jinonice fortress was first mentioned in the verdict. Interestingly the property went to Albrecht’s eldest daughter Johana. She was married to Hynek Ji\u0159\u00ed \u017d\u010f\u00e1rsk\u00fd ze \u017d\u010f\u00e1ru. Pavel Michna z Vac\u00ednova bought the estate from her.
Jinonice suffered greatly during the Thirty Years’ War. Four farmsteads were completely destroyed. Only three farm buildings remained. When Pavel Michna died his son V\u00e1clav sold it with Ko\u0161\u00ed\u0159e in 1678. Ji\u0159\u00ed Ludv\u00edk ze Sinzendorfu bought it. After he died a crucial moment came in local history. Ferdinand Vil\u00e9m ze Schwarzenberka bought the Jinonice and Sm\u00edchov estate in 1685. He bought it from the widowed wife Al\u017eb\u011bta Dorota.
A one-story z\u00e1mek was built then. It also included a vast complex of farm buildings. There was an entrance with a baroque portal. Jan Adolf’s coat of arms was there. Jan Adolf was Ferdinand’s nephew. A turret with a clock sits above the entrance. A brewery operated in the southern wing. O. Poup\u011b one of the field’s pioneers worked there in 1792-93. The brewery closed in 1890.
The complex expanded in 1815 and later. Another farm building was added to the north. The baroque style changed to classicism. The z\u00e1mek became a transition. It unified unevenly located yards. A park with a gazebo stretched to the west and south. Part of the buildings with the gazebo were demolished. Only part of the park remains.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries the estate administration resided in the z\u00e1mek. It included Jinonice Butovice Ko\u0161\u00ed\u0159e part of Sm\u00edchov Klukovice Zl\u00edchov Radlice and Nov\u00e1 Ves. The administration for the Butovice church also resided here. The Schwarzenbergs owned Prokop Quarry a brickyard and a lime kiln in Prokop Valley. Anton\u00edn Jaroslav Puchmajer a priest poet and revivalist worked at the z\u00e1mek from 1803 to 1805. He wrote Pravopis rusko-\u010desk\u00fd here. It was a fundamental work for literary Russian. It was written in German. Puchmajer dedicated it to the Russian Tsarina. The St. Petersburg Academy approved it.
M. Ku\u017eel made obvious errors in the birth and death dates on the memorial plaque on the z\u00e1mek wall in 1955. The Schwarzenbergs left the estate and z\u00e1mek in 1945. During socialism offices and operational buildings of the state farm were located in the z\u00e1mek. The current owner renovated the buildings. He built apartments with a closed entrance. The complex is now inaccessible to the public.
Today as we stand here we see a place reborn. Jinonice z\u00e1mek is not just a building. It is a living story etched in stone and time.