Aristocrats lose legal battle over chateau property

The Czech Constitutional Court rejected on Thursday a complaint by Jerome Colloredo-Mansfeld and his cousin Kristina Colloredo-Mansfeld, who sued the Czech Republic over movable property in the chateau of Opočno, in eastern Bohemia. The aristocrats wanted the state to return historic weapons, paintings, chandeliers, dinner sets and other objects which were confiscated, together with the chateau, in 1942 by the Nazis and later by the Czechoslovak state. The court said the confiscation took place before February 1948, which is the borderline for restitution claims.

Author: Jan Richter