Kost Castle is is privately owned by Kinský dal Borgo noble family. It was first proposed by Beneš von Wartenberg in 1349 as a possible construction site and was completed by his son Peter von Wartenberg. It retains most of the original features and is overall very well preserved and maintained.

The castle is known for its so-called 'White tower'. In about 1414 the family of Zajíc von Hasenburg moved there; later the family of Schellenberg (1497 - 1524), Lobkowicz (till 1576) and others; in this time some more buildings were built near the castle and joined to it.

Unlike most other castles in Bohemia, it does not lie on a hill, but on a spit between two brooks. Another peculiarity is the tower, which has a trapezoid-like ground-plan. The trapezoidal tower has the corners facing the areas of most likely catapult attacks. This is to make the missiles glance off the tower walls instead of hitting it headon thereby minimizing the damage.

The castle is open to the public and hosts events and exhibitions.

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Details

Founded: 14th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Czech Republic

More Information

hrad-kost.cz
en.wikipedia.org

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4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Vilija Hakala (14 months ago)
Fantastic castle, well preserved, with good exhibits. Suitable for anyone to visit. A little restaurant is on site, and there are a few tours available, highly informative. Highly recommended, about 1 hour drive away from Prague.
Anna Berger (16 months ago)
Parking was difficult and the police were giving tickets if you park along the road. The fortress was beautiful but you could only visit with a tour ranging 40 min to 110 minutes. Sadly all the coming tours were in Czech language. So all we could do was walk around it.
TheEvdriver (17 months ago)
Our destination is Kost Castle, which is almost 20 km away. It is probably the largest and best-preserved Gothic castle in the Czech Republic and is therefore a must-see. Defiantly she is enthroned on a mountain spur within a river valley. All sorts of extensions and forecourts gather around the mighty keep. It was built by the Vartemberk family in the 14th century. It later came into Wallenstein's possession. After a fire in the 17th century, it suffered considerable damage and was initially used as a granary, with the fortunate consequence that modern modifications were not made. We take the guided tour and can see the beautiful interiors with their Renaissance furniture.
Lenka Jansen (17 months ago)
Absolutely stunning castle placed in very nice, green and romantic surroundings. We also got to watch an hour play with horses and a dragon. Very entertaining for kids, also those who are not fluent in Czech:)
marco balena (19 months ago)
Just a few kilometres outside of Prague. Is very nice castle. The entrance is cheap (90 Kč and the tour guide is really interesting) . If you prefer only realx, Don't miss the incredible menu with super grill
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