Chateau Mcely: An Abandoned Chateau Restored for Weddings Near Prague

In September 2001 Inéz Cusumano found herself in an abandoned chateau in central Bohemia. It stood on the list of endangered monuments, and its park had grown over so completely that the avenue of oaks could not be recognised. Chateau Mcely opened to its first guests in 2006, and a wedding there can now take over all of it: the chateau, the English park and the Piano Nobile restaurant, for the wedding party alone.

The chateau among the autumn woods of St. George Forest, Chateau Mcely — The chateau among the autumn woods of St. George Forest. Photograph: Chateau Mcely.

A hunting chateau and its decline

Mcely is a village in the Elbe lowlands, less than an hour from the centre of Prague, with a church that dates back to the sixteenth century. The chateau was built in 1698 as a Baroque hunting lodge by Count Octavian Ladislav of Valdstejn and rebuilt in an austere classical style in 1841. In 1869 it was sold to Prince Hugo Maxmilian of the Thurn-Taxis family, whose principal seat was at nearby Loučeň, and the family and its descendants owned it until 1948. Tales are still told of their hunts with horses and hounds and their parties with ballet dancers and actresses. After 1948 the chateau was used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior and fell into a dilapidated state.

Restoration, 2004 to 2010

Inéz had left a career as a development manager to look for a project of her own. Renovation began on 15 June 2004 under her and her husband James Cusumano, a Silicon Valley businessman and film producer, and the chateau opened to guests in 2006. The English park covers five hectares beside St. George Forest, and in 2010 the other half of it was restored, the year the spa opened.

The chateau seen from above during its renovation, Chateau Mcely — The chateau seen from above during its renovation. Photograph: Chateau Mcely.

Inéz writes that couples often come back: they get engaged at the chateau, marry there, baptise their children in the local church, plant a tree in the park and return for anniversaries. She has told the story of the rebirth in a book, Chateau Mcely: Honey, Pearls, and Silk, the names also given to the three spa suites. The chateau’s film Chateau Mcely Reborn tells the same story.

An unrestored staircase inside the chateau during its renovation, Chateau Mcely — An unrestored staircase inside the chateau during its renovation. Photograph: Chateau Mcely.

In 1849, according to old records, three orphan girls reported seeing the Virgin Mary in a small field between the chateau and the church. The reported visions, known as the Mcely Miracle, continued into 1850 and drew pilgrims, and a waymarked circular trail from the chateau gates passes the places connected with them.

A statue of the Virgin Mary among the plants of the park, Chateau Mcely — A statue of the Virgin Mary among the plants of the park. Photograph: Chateau Mcely.

Weddings across the whole estate

For a wedding the chateau can be rented in full, for wedding guests only, and the grounds are closed to the public. The rental usually runs from 2 pm on the day of arrival to 11 am the next day. From May to September the package for exclusive use is a weekend, from 2 pm on Friday to 11 am on Sunday, and it includes all 24 rooms, service in the restaurant until 2 am and wedding coordination. Ceremonies are held in the chateau hall or in the English park. Civil, religious, symbolic and registered partnership ceremonies are all hosted. Civil ceremonies take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 3.30 pm or by arrangement, and the others by arrangement. Ceremonies are sold together with the chateau’s catering and accommodation. The exception is the Wedding Day without Accommodation, offered on selected midweek dates.

A garden ceremony set up on the lawn before the chateau, Chateau Mcely — A garden ceremony set up on the lawn before the chateau. Photograph: Dara Rakovčík for Chateau Mcely.

Banquets are held for up to 90 guests, and a garden marquee can be arranged for larger celebrations. The Golden Hall, the glazed Bellavista Patio and the cellar club give the evening different settings. Catering is by the Piano Nobile restaurant, so outside caterers are not used. Couples may bring their own suppliers by passing on their contact details, so that the day can be coordinated, and the chateau team also recommends established partners that know the house. Own wedding koláče are welcome, wedding cakes should come from the chateau kitchen or its trusted suppliers, and wines can be brought by individual arrangement.

A long wedding table in the glazed Bellavista Patio, Chateau Mcely — A long wedding table in the glazed Bellavista Patio. Photograph: Chateau Mcely.

The day runs late indoors. Restaurant service continues until 2 am, after which guests can move to the Alchemist Club in the cellar, where refreshments are prepared without service. Outdoors, the noise curfew applies from 10 pm in the park and on the Bellavista Patio, though a Friday or Saturday exception until 2 am can be requested from the local council. Live music and DJs are allowed only with private rental of the estate, and silent fireworks need no permit while traditional ones need the municipality’s approval.

The chateau entrance lit in the evening, Chateau Mcely — The chateau entrance lit in the evening. Photograph: Chateau Mcely.

Dinner at Piano Nobile

Executive Chef Honza Štěrba has cooked at the chateau since it opened in 2006 and has led the kitchen since 2010. The restaurant was named MICHELIN Selected in 2025, and the chateau itself holds a MICHELIN Key, part of the first Czech hotel selection announced in October 2025. Menus are seasonal, built on local suppliers, herbs from the chateau gardens and its smokehouse. Wedding packages include a tasting so that the menu can be tailored to the couple. Outside a wedding, the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the Bellavista Patio bar mixes signature cocktails with ingredients from the chateau gardens. The wine cellar holds more than 1,000 bottles of 260 different wines, among them a cuvée that the Czech vintner Jiří Hort made for the chateau and that can be tasted only there.

The wine cellar, Chateau Mcely — The wine cellar. Photograph: Chateau Mcely.

Staying, and the spa

The chateau has 24 rooms and suites, each with its own name and interior, and they sleep up to 55 guests including extra beds. The Agape Presidential Suite has two bedrooms, and the other names on the chateau’s room list include the Legend Suite, the Luxury Suite, the Junior Suite, the Princess Nely Suite, the Deluxe Room and the Superior Room. Check-in is at 3 pm and check-out at 11 am. The Mcely Bouquet Spa has three private therapy suites: Honey, Pearls and Silk. One is in the chateau, one on the top floor of the tower and one in a wooden building in the park with an open fireplace. The park also has a sauna house, an outdoor whirlpool and a naturally filtered swimming lake with a pebble beach, a sports court and a fitness trail. The spa is open from 8 am to 8 pm by prior booking, and the Mcely Summer Club at the lake, with loungers and a summer bar open from noon to 6 pm, is reserved for accommodated guests from noon on arrival day to 11 am on departure day. The spa’s cosmetics were founded by Inéz Cusumano in 2010 and are blended by hand in the chateau laboratory.

A wooden spa building in the park, with an open fireplace and a wooden bath, Chateau Mcely — A wooden spa building in the park, with an open fireplace and a wooden bath. Photograph: Chateau Mcely.

Families are included: the park has a children’s playground, the restaurant a children’s menu and a kids’ corner, and dogs are welcome, with a dog menu.

Around Mcely

The Jabkenice Game Park and the Bedřich Smetana Memorial are three minutes away, close enough to cycle, and Loučeň Chateau, the Thurn-Taxis seat, is five minutes by car. The Princess Almeria Trail follows the route that Princess Almeria Thurn-Taxis used after 1875 to walk between Loučeň and Mcely, past an old waterworks and a Lusatian hillfort, and spring snowflakes flower along it between late February and mid-March. A yellow nature trail into St. George Forest starts just outside the chateau gate, and maps of cycling routes are available at reception. Poděbrady, a spa town, is thirty minutes away by car and Kutná Hora, a UNESCO World Heritage city, an hour.

Planning a wedding at Mcely

Wedding coordination is included in every bespoke wedding package. The chateau names a Wedding Package for Two, an Intimate Wedding Package, an Exclusive Wedding Package and a Tour Around the World Wedding Package, with the contents of each given through a non-binding enquiry, which is also how prices are given. The midweek day covers preparation and coordination, the ceremony location in the chateau hall or park, a live musical trio, the reception hall and a menu tasting for two. Banquets seat up to 90 guests while the beds number 55, so a larger party would need accommodation nearby. Václav Havel Airport Prague is 80 km away, and Prague Main Station is connected by train to Nymburk, from where a bus or taxi completes the journey. Chateau Mcely suits couples who want a restored historic house to themselves for a weekend, with the restaurant, the spa and the park all on the estate. The point to settle early is that ceremonies are sold with the chateau’s catering and accommodation, so the weekend and the menu are chosen together. Check your date through its page on 5 Star Weddings, or read more about weddings in the Czech Republic and the Prague photographer Petr Pělucha, whose Edit includes a bride photographed at Mcely.