Chateau Bon Repos is a magical place in the middle of nature. In early days, Count František Antonín Špork has chosen this place for relaxation and meditation, as the name "Bon Repos" suggests, and his choice was absolutely correct. 

The history of the entire area of Chateau Bon Repos starts around 1715, when Count František Antonín Špork built his House of Rest (“La Maison de Bon Repos”) on the hill of Cihadla, not far from his official seat in Lysá nad Labem. In addition to his hut, he built here the chapel of Saint Jerome, a building for monks, and also a pyramid, where the monk prayed for his sins. Count Spork was using his Bon Repos primarily to meditate, to rest or to hunt birds.

After his death, for thirty years nothing happened, until the Prague Archbishop Příchovsky bought the entire premises in the auction. As a lover of art and architecture, he made great changes. Instead of the chapel of Saint Jeroným he built the “New Chateau”. He also connected the Špork´s hunting lodge with the monks’ building into a large “Old Chateau”. He added a unique Chinese pavilion for his entertainment, mainly for private concerts and dancing-balls. The chateau had many owners and interesting personalities lived here as well. For example famous Czech composer Bedřich Smetana lived here for 4 years and taught music in the Thun Hohenstein family. After World War II, there were soldiers of the Czechoslovak Army here for over fifty years and the whole area was changed enourmosly for the army purposes. Currently the extensive reconstruction of all the buildings took place and the original beauty of the chateau can bloom again.