History of the property

The chateau's single-storey manor, built in the second half of the 18th century on the site of the former free court, forms a small complex with a garden and farm facilities. Originally it was presumably a medieval fortress. In 1540, written sources document a free court in the possession of Ondřej Petrkovský of Petrkov. Around 1660, already in the possession of Jindřich Bošinský, the whole court burnt down. The present appearance dates back to the 2nd half of the 18th century. During the construction, certain older elements were also used, especially the stonework. The chateau underwent minor modifications in the 19th and then in the first half of the 20th century.

The estate, situated in the western part of the village, consists of an elongated single-storey building of the manor house itself with adjacent grounds of the yard, garden and a driveway winding along the eastern side of the garden. The main entrance to the whole area is on the eastern side between the raised pillars of the enclosure wall, in which a memorial plaque with the inscription "In this house lived the poet and graphic artist Bohuslav Reynek." A semi-wild garden surrounds the chateau on the south side. The entire courtyard is enclosed by outbuildings on the north and west sides. The one-storey building of the chateau with a turret on the eastern side is divided inside by a vaulted staircase into a residential and an operational part. The interiors preserve many original elements and details, including paintings, window panes, tiled stoves and door handles.

The chateau has survived to the present day in an exceptionally intact form. The facility has preserved a considerable number of authentic building elements (masonry, Baroque type of stone lining, vaults in the cellar, roof structure) and details (door and window openings, door hinges, box locks, handles and key plates). Since December 2009 the chateau has been protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. The mansion was entrusted to the administration of the PNP in 2020.

In the Petrkov Chateau ticket office you can buy a book of historical and contemporary photographs called At Home in Petrkov. The life of Suzanne Renaud is presented in Lucie Tučková's book Suzanne Renaud / Petrkov 13 (Paseka), the Czech-French edition of Suzanne Renaud's poems was published under the title Here's Your Life... / Ta vie est la... (PNP), and another poem, again with Reynek's translation, was published in a separate publication První sníh / Premiere neige (PNP), both prepared by Lucie Tučková. All of these publications are available for purchase at Petrkov and at the Museum of Literature box office.

The Petrkov 13 house can be reached in about 15 minutes from the Petrkov train stop, which is located on the Humpolec-Havlíčkův Brod line. On weekdays, a bus arrives directly to the village, and for hiking, you can use the Bohuslav Reynek nature trail from Havlíčkov Brod.

Le Centre culturel tchéco-français de Petrkov