The castle was probably built in the 13th century most likely in place of an ancient Estonian stronghold. The bailiwick of Karksi was first mentioned in 1248. The stronghold had a chapel dedicated to Apostle Peter. The first reference was made to a local clergyman in 1298. The present stone church, very simple in design, was built in the same place between 1773 and 1778. St. Peter’s Church is in the ruins of Karksi castle. The tower of the church is leaning, the inclination of the tower’s top is 205 cm at the moment. In 1994 it was decided to save the tower using complicated "construction surgery" developed while stabilizing structures in the old town of Tartu. Eight 10- metre-tall bored piles along with concrete beams penetrating foundations form a new bearing surface for the tower. As a result, the further leaning of the tower has stopped.
On the way which takes you to the stronghold, in the former cemetery of the Knights of the Order of the Sword, stands a nice Baroque chapel among trees, built in the early 18th century by Field Marshal George Reinhold von Lieven, the owner of the Karksi manorial estate. The coats of arms of the Lievens and the Mannteuffels have been fixed to the chapel doors. The chapel, similarly, was built with one side on the former foundation and therefore is somewhat leaning. The buildings of the Karksi manor have perished.
Hluboká Castle (Schloss Frauenberg) is considered one of the most beautiful castles in the Czech Republic. In the second half of the 13th century, a Gothic castle was built at the site. During its history, the castle was rebuilt several times. It was first expanded during the Renaissance period, then rebuilt into a Baroque castle at the order of Adam Franz von Schwarzenberg in the beginning of the 18th century. It reached its current appearance during the 19th century, when Johann Adolf II von Schwarzenberg ordered the reconstruction of the castle in the romantic style of England's Windsor Castle.
The Schwarzenbergs lived in Hluboká until the end of 1939, when the last owner (Adolph Schwarzenberg) emigrated overseas to escape from the Nazis. The Schwarzenbergs lost all of their Czech property through a special legislative Act, the Lex Schwarzenberg, in 1947.
The original royal castle of Přemysl Otakar II from the second half of the 13th century was rebuilt at the end of the 16th century by the Lords of Hradec. It received its present appearance under Count Jan Adam of Schwarzenberg. According to the English Windsor example, architects Franz Beer and F. Deworetzky built a Romantic Neo-Gothic chateau, surrounded by a 1.9 square kilometres English park here in the years 1841 to 1871. In 1940, the castle was seized from the last owner, Adolph Schwarzenberg by the Gestapo and confiscated by the government of Czechoslovakia after the end of World War II. The castle is open to public. There is a winter garden and riding-hall where the Southern Bohemian gallery exhibitions have been housed since 1956.