Czech architect turns Kutná Hora house into boutique hotel

Czech architect Jana Zadák has created the boutique hotel Donebe in Kutná Hora — a project that took her and her husband five years and 45 million crowns of their own savings. The hotel occupies a 14th-century historic building on Palackého Square that, according to reconstruction research, once served as the town hall.

The idea of opening a hotel in precisely this spot came to the couple almost as soon as they took on the restoration of the derelict building. According to Zadák, touristy Kutná Hora — whose dining scene rivals Prague's — had simply been missing quality boutique hotels; concepts like this existed only outside the town.

While working on the project, the architect drew inspiration from her favourite Czech hotels: she partly “borrowed” the design from Perk in Šumperk, and the approach to service from Chateau Mcely. But the defining feature of Donebe is the building's own history — hand-painted ceilings, oak floors and stone portals that survived thanks to careful restoration.

“The house itself asked for it. For an architect, it was a huge opportunity to work with details like these,” says Jana Zadák. She says so much could be preserved precisely because the family was in no hurry: while construction was under way, the architect gave birth to her third and fourth children, and the first phase was financed entirely from personal savings.

The nine-room hotel has been open since the start of this year. The name Donebe (“to the sky”) reflects the founders' idea — to move away from the stereotypical image of Kutná Hora as a town of taverns, stone and medieval scenery. Airy, light-filled interiors are meant to show that even a historic space can feel contemporary.

Each room is decorated in its own colour scheme, but all are united by preserved historic details — from painted ceilings to the original doors, which had to be replaced with fireproof replicas, while the authentic pieces were placed where strict regulations do not apply. “We wanted to keep as much of the original as possible,” the architect stresses.

As Jana Zadák herself admits, the hotel is not the most lucrative project financially, but it is exactly the kind that “makes sense and will keep bringing joy for a long time.”