Manětín

History

The first written mention of Manětín is from 1169, when King Vladislaus II donated the settlement to the order of Knights Hospitaller. The order had built here a commandery, town walls, and a fortress with a monastery. They owned Manětín until 1420, when King Sigismund gave the town to Bohuslav of Švamberk. From a legal point of view, the town belonged to the Knights Hospitaller until 1483, when the Švamberks paid them off. In 1544, the Švamberk family sold Manětín to Volf the Younger Krajíř of Krajek. In 1548, it was acquired by the Schlick family. They replaced the old fortress with a Renaissance castle and greatly expanded the estate. They had to sell the estate in 1617 because of debts. During the Thirty Years' War, internal disputes took place in the town and owners changed rapidly. In 1639, Manětín was inherited by the Lažanský family, who held it until 1945. In 1712, a huge fire destroyed half of the town with the castle, church and school. Immediately after the fire, Václav Josef Lažanský had completely rebuilt the castle according to the plans by Jan Santini Aichel.