Slabce – Discover the Castle Park and Cultural History

Slabce combines castle history, sacred buildings and unusual technological history with marked routes into the surrounding area. If you travel with different interests, you will find several clearly distinct discoveries here: a freely accessible castle park, churches and chapels, a late Baroque rectory and a mill with a unique electrical history. The range thus extends from open parkland and sacred and late Baroque architecture to a mill with an electrical operating history.

Castle and Castle Park

The castle in Slabce was founded at the beginning of the 18th century by Karel Vančura z Řehnic. The romantic castle park of Slabce is a local destination and freely accessible. The castle complex is not separated from the surrounding area by walls or fences; only two short sections of wall remain on the eastern side. Important for practical orientation: the Empire-style castle of Slabce is not accessible. The park and castle therefore do not share the same entrance. Visitors to the castle complex should therefore regard the park and buildings as two separate destinations.

Church, Chapel and Rectory

According to tradition, the origins of St. Nicholas Church date back to the beginning of the 12th century. The church acquired its present form during a comprehensive renovation at the end of the 18th century. Thus, at St. Nicholas, an early traditional origin and the present form from the late 18th century stand side by side. Another highlight is the Nanebevstoupení Páně Cemetery Chapel in Slabce: it is dedicated to the Ascension of Christ and dates from 1869.

The rectory of Slabce is also one of the town’s culturally and historically noteworthy buildings. It is a late Baroque complex with a building featuring a mansard roof and partially preserved farm buildings. A metal plaque on the rectory commemorates the stay there of the priest Josef Antonín Janiš from 1777 to 1784. The mansard roof and the partially preserved farm buildings give the complex a multifaceted architectural character even apart from the commemorative plaque.

A Mill with a Unique Technological History

The Čechův válcový mlýn roller mill was built in 1918–1919 by the miller Václav Čech from Šlovice. Its uniqueness extends beyond the year it was built: it was the first electrically operated mill in Czechoslovakia. This aspect complements the castle and church history with a theme of technological development and gives the town an unusually broad cultural profile. The combination of its construction period, builder and electrical operation makes the mill a distinct focal point alongside the castle and church.

Marked Routes into the Surrounding Area

Slabce is connected to the surrounding area by several marked hiking, cycling and horse-riding routes. The routes complement the buildings with opportunities for activity outside the town. Depending on the preferred activity, hiking, cycling or horse riding takes center stage; these three types of route represent different ways of exploring Slabce and its surroundings.

For further travel planning, you can also consider Rakovník, Malinová, Kounov, Lašovice, Panoší Újezd, Karlova Ves, Kolešovice and Lhotka-Ostrovec.

For the overarching travel overview: Rakovník District.