The Coloredo-Mannsfeld family has had its home and property in Bohemia since the time of the Thirty Years’ War. The property is based on a family residence in Opočno (in North Bohemia). It was augmented through marriage (Dobříš in Central Bohemia) and through purchase (Zbiroh in West Bohemia).
The family had its property confiscated during the Second World War, including the Zbiroh and Opočno Castle and other properties. The Dobříš Castle even served as a refuge for SS staff, and a part of the castle furniture was misappropriated.
ZBIROH DEMESNE
In 1879, the Zbiroh Estate was purchased by the Colloredo-Mannsfeld family at an auction held by a mortgage bank from Vienna, who was the largest creditor of the bankrupt entrepreneur Dr. Strousberg. By investing a significant amount of funds and with staff changes, the new owners significantly improved the condition of their new property.
After the war ended, Jeroným Colloredo-Mansfeld took back his property and managed it until it was nationalized in 1948.
During the years 1948 - 1992, the state took over the management of these assets through state forest, fisheries and agricultural cooperative companies.
With the fall of communism and, on the basis of the newly introduced property restitution laws, the ownership of these twice-seized assets was returned to the original family. In 1993, Jeroným Colloredo-Mansfeld returned and he established a new forest and pond management company, which hired many of the local people who had previously been employed by the state-owned companies.
After his death in 1998, the properties passed into the hands of Jeroným’s nephew, Dipl. Ing. Jerome Colloredo-Mansfeld.
DOBŘÍŠ DEMESNE
The Dobříš part includes original family property. In 1630, the Royal Chamber sold the Dobříš demesne to the Prussian count Bruno von Mannsfeld. In 1771, the daughter of Jindřich Pavel František Mannsfeld was married off to František Gundakar Colloredo. The marriage was conditional on preserving the name Mannsfeld in the newly married couple’s surnames. The predicate Colloredo-Mannsfeld was confirmed by the Empress Maria Theresa in 1775. The last holder of this property before expropriation by the Nazis in 1942 was Vikard Colloredo-Mannsfeld.
Restitution claims on the former Dobříš demesne were lodged by Dipl. Ing. Jerome Colloredo-Mannsfeld jointly with Mrs Kristina Colloredo-Mansfeldová, the owner of the former Opočno demesne. Following protracted legal disputes, the first forest plots of land were only handed over in 2002. In 2004, there was a handover of the largest forest units in the cadastre of the town of Dobříš and the formation of two new organisational units – the forest districts of Svatá Anna and of Obora.
Until the end of 2005, the management of the property in Zbiroh was taken care of by the company “Lesní a Rybniční Správa Zbiroh” [Zbiroh Forest and Pond Management]. Through the agreements reached in December 2005 between the two co-owners, Since 1 January 2006 it has managed the forest district called Svatá Anna Lesní and Zbiroh pond administration – transformed on 1 April 2014 into Colloredo-Mannsfeld spol. s r.o.; and, the Obora [Deer park] forest district was managed by “Správa lesů Kristiny Colloredo-Mannsfeldové Opočno” [Kristina Colloredo-Mannsfeld Opočno Forest Management] .
At the present time, these two companies owned by descendants of the two family branches of the Colloredo-Mannsfeld dynasty manage their activities and property independently.
