Castle in Velké Dvorce

Zámek Velké Dvorce (formerly: Schloss Groß Meierhöfen) is a Baroque four-wing castle complex of the Counts of Kolowrat in the czech region Plzeňský kraj in western Bohemia, originally built in the second half of the 17th century. The here shown representative main wing of the southern side was remodeled in neo-baroque style at the beginning of the 20th century.

After serving various medical and governmental purposes (including a military hospital) during the two World Wars, the chateau was expropriated after 1945 in the course of land reform and served as an administrative building for the state production cooperative. In Czechoslovakia, this was the "Unified Agricultural Cooperative", or JRD (Jednotné roľnícke družstvo); it was comparable to the "Agricultural Production Cooperative LPG" in the former GDR.

In addition to barrel vaults and decorative columns, two large staircases have been preserved; the main staircase made of sandstone with strong balusters dates back to the Baroque period; later, another staircase made of oak was built in the side wing. In the park there is a statue of St. John Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký): Representations of the popular Bohemian martyr can still be seen in the center of many Bohemian castles and villages.

In the 1990-ies, the property was returned to descendants of the family. In 2018, the castle in need of renovation was sold to a new private owner and has been undergoing gradual restoration since then. It is not open to visitors (2021).