The Častolovice Château

The chateau was originally designed as a water fortress built on wooden stanchions amid a water level at the confluence of the Bělá and Kněžna rivers back in the 13^th century. The fortress was rebuilt into a Renaissance chateau at the turn of the 16^th and 17^th centuries. In 1694, it was purchased by the Sternberg family. The chateau was nationalized after 1948 though, and a boarding school was established here. Diana Phipps Sternberg would not return to the chateau until 1992, when the property was returned to her in restitution. She devoted all her soul of an interior architect to the reconstruction of the chateau and she has made it accessible to the public. Apart from the neat historic interiors, one can also admire the monumental Knights' Hall with the Renaissance-originating compartment ceilings, or the roofed arcade corridor. There is also a gallery with exhibitions of paintings, photographs and sculptures created by contemporary artists. The chateau is surrounded by a large English park open all year round which contains water and rose gardens, a game-park with white fallow deer and Dybovský stags, as well as a chateau menagerie inhabited by local and exotic animals. You can also have a sit in the chateau courtyard over some excellent coffee or other delicacies served by the chateau café. And do not forget to visit Častolovice also at the end of August – you may well come across one of those mysterious evening tours organised as part of the Castle Night event.

The chateau is part of the tourist product Chateaux on the Orlice - the Czech Loire.