Medieval castles in Czech Republic
Veverí Castle
According to legend, the castle Veveří was founded by Duke Conrad of Brno in the middle of the 11th century. Nevertheless, the first written mention about the castle is from the years 1213 and 1222, when King Přemysl Otakar I used the fortified castle as a prison for rebellious peers. Initially, it was apparently a wooden or masonry residence situated near the Romanesque church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary west ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Brno, Czech Republic
Hrubý Rohozec Castle
Hrubý Rohozec is a castle in Turnov. The original structure was connected to a polygonal tower by a defensive wall. Its purpose, in the 14th century, was to monitor the trade route running below it. Between the two parts of the castle Jan von Šelmberk, and later Konrad Kraiger Kraigk, built Gothic palaces. During the Renaissance the Wartenberg family rebuilt the complex in the style of a chateaux. Albrecht von Wallenst ...
Founded: c. 1280 |
Location:
Turnov, Czech Republic
Roudnice Castle
Roudnice Castle was built in the 12th century by Bishop Jindřich Břetislav, the nephew of the Czech king Vladislav I, to protected an important trade route from Prague to Upper Lusatia along the Elbe. The castle complex included several farm buildings, protected by a fortified wall; the castle itself had walls that were two meters thick, and watch towers in each corner. In the mid-14th century, it was rebuilt in ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Roudnice nad Labem, Czech Republic
Strekov Castle
Střekov Castle (Schreckenstein) is perched atop a cliff above the River Elbe, near the city of Ústí nad Labem. It was built in 1316 for John of Luxembourg, the father of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, to guard an important trade route to Germany. After changing hands several times, the castle was acquired by the Lobkowicz family in 1563. Its strategic importance led to occupations by Imperial Habsburg, Saxon, ...
Founded: 1316 |
Location:
Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic
Decin Castle
Perched atop its cliff where the Ploučnice meets the Elbe, Děčín Castle is one of the oldest and largest landmarks in northern Bohemia. In the past several hundred years it has served as a point of control for the Bohemian princes, a military fortress, and noble estate. The forerunner of the Děčín Castle was a wooden fortress built towards the end of the 10th century by the Bohemian princes. The first written reco ...
Founded: 993 AD |
Location:
Děčín, Czech Republic
Znojmo Castle
Znojmo Castle was initially a wooden structure built by the Přemyslid Bretislaus I, Duke of Bohemia, and completed around 1080. The structure was intended to replace an old castle that was located across the Granice Valley, as part of an attempt at strengthening the defenses along the river Dyje against Austrian attack. From the new castle the river valley and surrounding area could be observed. However, in 1140, the woo ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Znojmo, Czech Republic
Chyse Castle
Chateau Chyše is situated 35 km east of the famous spa town Karlovy Vary. Its origins date from the year 1169. Over the centuries the chateau went through many changes. It began as a fortified settlement before it was rebuilt as a Gothic castle in the 13th century. In 1578 Chateau Chyše was transformed into a Renaissance chateau before a Baroque-style reconstruction completed in 1708. Between the years 1856-1858 final ...
Founded: 1169 |
Location:
Chyše, Czech Republic
Stramberk Castle
Štramberk Castle ruins have an unknown origin (according to an old tale, the site of its original planned location was on the opposite hill Kotouè, but that was prevented by dwarves from the cave Devil's hole). Apparently, it was made to protect country boundaries. According to the most recent information, the castle was built either by members of the aristocratic family, Benešovic, or more precisely, ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Štramberk, Czech Republic
Benesov nad Ploucnici Castle
The dominating feature of the Benešov nad Ploučnicí town is actually two castles from the 13th century, the Lower and Upper castles. There is a permanent exhibition of Chinese art and day and night tours are available as well as social meetings. The history of the castle started in the 13th century when a settlement of tradesmen and shopkeepers began under the castle Ostrý. The people were satisfied there, the set ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Benešov nad Ploučnicí, Czech Republic
Vranov Castle
Vranov nad Dyjí castle was first mentioned by Cosmas of Prague in 1100 as a border sentry castle. It was built by the Dukes of Bohemia to defend the southern border of Moravia against raids from the neighbouring Austrian March. Until 1323 the castle was in royal hands but in that year king John of Bohemia pawned Vranov to a powerful Bohemian nobleman, the viceroy Jindřich of Lipá. In 1421, during the d ...
Founded: c. 1100 |
Location:
Vranov nad Dyjí, Czech Republic
Rabí Castle
Rabí is the largest castle (in terms of area) from all Czech castles. Its name might derive from the German word raben ('raven'), or it could be mangled Czech name vrab(č)í vrch ('sparrow"s peak'). The first mention of Rábí Castle dates from 1380, although it is not known exactly when it was founded. It is likely that the Lords of Velhartice established it after 1300 to protect trade route ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Klatovy, Czech Republic
Roztoky Castle
It is not clear when and by whom the Roztoky fortress was found. Appearance of the fortress was documented by the archaeological research from the period of the 2nd half of the 13th century, when the place around the fortress consisted of a huge stone residential tower, surrounded by a high city wall, a moat and a rampart. The floor plan of the residential tower is marked in the stone pavement of the courtyard. In written ...
Founded: 1476 |
Location:
Roztoky, Czech Republic
Hazmburk Castle
Hazmburk (Hasenburg) is a Gothic castle ruin located on a mountain peak near the town of Libochovice. The castle was home to Zajíc noble family of which Zbyněk Zajíc was the first to own the castle (since 1335). After 1586, it remains desolate and later, in the period of romanticism, it became a source of inspiration for writers, most notably K.H. Mácha. The castle is open to public in summer and can be either acce ...
Founded: c. 1335 |
Location:
Libochovice, Czech Republic
Svihov Castle
Švihov castle was built by the House of Rýzmberk ze Skály. It was besieged by the Hussites during Hussite wars, the garrison surrendered after their water moats were siphoned. It was rebuilt between 1480 and 1489 by the order of the castle’s owner, Puta Schwihau von Riesenberg, in the Late Gothic style. His sons continued in rebuilding the castle after he died and invited a famous architect Benedikt Reid. ...
Founded: 1480-1489 |
Location:
Švihov, Czech Republic
Seeberg Castle
Seeberg or Ostroh Castle, which was founded in the 1200s, belongs to the oldest landmarks in the region. It stands on a high rocky spur above a brook not far from Františkovy Lázně. It was probably founded as the manor house of ministeriales subject to the imperial palatinate in Cheb. Despite being almost destroyed by several fires and frequently plundered by enemy armies, Seeberg Castle has survived to our time thank ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Poustka, Czech Republic
Klenová Castle
Klenová castle is a large castle located in southwest Bohemia near the town of Klatovy. Only ruins remain from the original castle but buildings of a new chateau were added in the 19th century. Klenová castle was built in 1291 as a part of the frontier defence system. Kryštof Harant z Polžic a Bezdružic, a writer and musician from the nobility, was born here in 1564. Between the 17th and 18th centuries the castle f ...
Founded: 1291 |
Location:
Klatovy, Czech Republic
Krašov Castle
Krašov castle was founded in 1232 by Jetřich of the Hroznatovec family. It stood on a rocky promontory above the river Berounka and the Brodeslav brook. In the 13th century, the castle was rebuilt in the late Gothic style, a new palace was added and the fortifications were modified. The construction of the fort probably took place in the 15th century. In the 16th century, it was rebuilt into a Renaissance chateau and in ...
Founded: 1232 |
Location:
Kralovice, Czech Republic
Zvíkov Castle
Zvíkov, often called 'the king of Czech castles', is located at the junction of the Vltava and Otava rivers. It stands on a difficult-to-access and steep promontory above the confluence of the Vltava and Otava rivers. The castle is one of the most important early-Gothic castles in Czech lands. The area was inhabited as early as prehistoric times, when the Celts built a fort here in the 1st century AD. The ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Písek, Czech Republic
Kasperk Castle
Kašperk Castle (Karlsberg) is said to be the most highly located royal castle in Bohemia. Its elevation is 886 metres above sea level). Kašperk Castle was founded in 1356 by Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia Charles IV to protect Bohemia"s borders. Historians and scholars believe the castle was built, primarily, for three reasons. The first was about security. Bohemia needed to bolster their border defense ag ...
Founded: 1356 |
Location:
Kašperské Hory, Czech Republic
Jánský vrch Castle
Jánský vrch castle stands on a hill above the town of Javorník in the north-western edge of Czech Silesia, in area what was a part of the Duchy of Nysa. For most of its history the castle belonged to the Prince-bishops of Breslau (Wrocław) in Silesia. The castle is first mentioned in written sources in 1307, when it was still the property of the Princes of Svidník. In the 1348, they sold the castle to the Prince-bis ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Javorník, Czech Republic