The originally Gothic castle was probably built in the early 14th century on a high promontory above the Teplá River to protect an important crossroad of provincial roads. The first written mention of the local fortified settlement dates back to 1349, the days of the Lords of Riesenburg. In 1387, the settlement below the castle was granted the status of a town. Mining (mainly tin mining) was the main source of income for Bečov's residents in the Middle Ages. In the 19th century crafts were on the rise in the town: small factories started emerging here. A renowned music school located in Bečov was frequented by students from the entire north-western Bohemia. Thanks to the quickly developing road and rail traffic, the beautiful landscape of the Slavkov Forest came to the attention of tourists and naturalists.
https://karlovyvary.cz/

Bečov nad Teplou Castle

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Toužim (German: Theusing, 612 metres above sea level) is a small historical town in western Bohemia situated in a wide shallow valley at the headwater of the small Střela River on the Teplá Plateau. The history of the town and its environs began in the late 12th century when the estate was acquired from Bohemian kings by Jiří of Milevsko, a magnate from South Bohemia, who, after colonizing it, donated the demesne to the Premonstratensian Monastery in Milevsko founded by him in 1185.
Since its foundation, Toužim had been the administrative centre of the demesne. Calixtin nobility took hold of the demesne belonging to the Order of the Prémontré during the Hussite Wars. Jan I of Vřesovice rebuilt Toužim into a Gothic castle and in 1469, the burghers of the plundered town of Útviny moved their borough to the castle. Toužim thus became a fortified town and the economic centre of the demesne. The last aristocratic owners were Dukes Beaufort-Spontini between 1837 and 1945.
The town experienced a period of heyday especially in the age of Renaissance in the 16th century. The local chateau was the residence of the nobility, handicrafts and trade with mining towns in the nearby Slavkovský les (Slavkov Forest) and Krušné hory (Ore Mountains) were thriving. The town gradually acquired various rights, the town hall, two schools, and three churches were built and suburbs were growing beyond the town walls. The largely Czech population was forced out or germanised by German colonists in the 16th and 17th century, and a Jewish minority settled in the town in the 17th century.
The historical centre of Toužim and the chateau are a monument zone, as well as two country manors in Kosmová and Kojšovice. The rich history and its traces in the form of numerous historical monuments along with the surrounding countryside create ideal conditions for active relaxation and invite visitors to explore this still rather unknown part of Bohemia.
http://cestovani.kr-karlovarsky.cz/

Toužim Chateau

At the beginning of the 13th century, Loket, a royal castle was built on a landmark promontory within the Ohře River bend. It used to be called the "Key to the Czech Kingdom". Soon after, a small town, first mentioned in 1288, arose below the castle. In the early 15th century the royal town was fortified and turned into an important focal point of the Czech Crown. In the course of the 19th century, the town became famous for its local porcelain factory. However, industrial production was located in the surrounding towns. The town regained its former fame in the time of beginning tourism bloom, when the local area of great natural beauty and numerous historical monuments became increasingly popular with holidaymakers and romantics.
https://karlovyvary.cz/

Loket Castle

At the turn of 19th – 20th century, the owner had the remaining five Swiss-Tyrol log cabins built. The first local guide book was printed in 1896.
The local park layouts were designed in a romantic style, where the typical character is determined by solitary trees in the main meadow. The parks are exceptional for their high altitude (820 m above sea level) as well as for the usage of exotic wood species. Kladská was the first place in the former Czechoslovakia to use the cultivar of the grey noble fir tree species and unique for their size, the common golden spruce tree species.
Otto Sigismund was a passionate admirer of nature and game breeding. During his life, Kladská was the second largest shooting ground in Bohemia. Duke Schönburg-Waldenburg was buried in a tomb at the foot of Lysina hill, within eyeshot of his beloved settlement.
https://kladska.com/

Kladská Chateau

The first mention of a castle of this name dates from 1369, when Knight Fencl of Dub, vassal of the lord of Loket, resided here. In 1447, when owned by marauding knight Tannenberg, it was conquered and damaged by allied troops of surrounding towns. A number of Renaissance alterations were made during its renovation. In 1739-1756 turned into a Baroque chateau, with a Baroque chapel built into the semicircular bastion of the outer bailey wall (in 1865 the chapel was remodelled in neo-Gothic style).In 1795-1834 owned by the lords of Schönau. In the 1890s it was rebuilt in neo-Renaissance style to the design by architect František Mader. In 1945 housing the Red Army command, then various state-owned companies. Its latest reconstruction was carried out by its private owner Karel Holoubek, today it houses his administrative premises and also the first and only Czech Christmas House operating throughout the year. Open to visitors will be the cellars, courtyard and lookout terrace.
http://historickasidla.cz/

Doubí Chateau

Linhart Colon of Fels had it built. In 1622 it was acquired by the Černíns. In the 19th century, it was rebuilt in Pseudo-Renaissance style. From 1948, it was the property of the military, which later sold it to a private individual.
https://czecot.com/

Stružná Chateau

Andělská Hora, originally called Engelsburg, is a castle above the village of Andělská Hora, about 7 kilometres (4 mi) southeast of Karlovy Vary, in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic.
The ruins of the Andělská Hora castle stands upon a rock overlooking the village of Andělská Hora which lies just below. It was founded at the turn of the 14th to the 15th century by Boreš z Rýznburk, a noblemen from the Rýznburk family, as protection for their estates. The castle was destroyed by fire during the Thirty Years' War and abandoned in the 17th century.

Andělská Hora Castle

The foundations of the present-day chateau in the town of Sokolov were laid by the Šlik family in 1480. They rebuilt an old water stronghold into a castle with a rectangular ground plan and four towers. In the 17th century, when the castle was in the possession of its subsequent owners, the Nostitz family, it was converted into a Renaissance chateau and Baroque features were added later. In the early 19th century, the chateau was reconstructed in Classicist style. After World War II, the chateau served for the purposes of the Czechoslovak army for many years. An extensive reconstruction took place between the years 1993 and 1994. Today, it houses the town library and museum.
A permanent museum exposition is located in 11 rooms on the first floor of the chateau. It describes the history of the region, mining and associated production. Among the exhibits, you may find minerals along with specimens of fauna and flora from the region, as well as various porcelain items, musical instruments and many other interesting items.
http://zivykraj.cz/

Sokolov Castle

The first castle, built before 1600, collapsed. After the Battle of White Mountain during the Thirty Years' War, the remains of the castle were confiscated and by 1630 granted to the Metternich family. From 1682 to 1691, Count Philipp Emmerich von Metternich turned the decayed ruins into a Baroque residence. From 1821 to 1836, the Austrian Chancellor Klemens Wenzel von Metternich remodeled the building in the neoclassical style with the help of architect Pietro Nobile.
The castle was confiscated from the Metternich family in 1945 by the Czechoslovak government.
The castle has a library that includes over 200 examples of incunabula, medieval manuscripts, valuable prints, scientific books, and scientific encyclopedias. In 1828, a museum was founded to display the castle's natural science collections, coins, historical and technological curiosities, manuscripts, ancient Egyptian monuments, marble sculptures, and pieces of Oriental art.

Kynžvart Castle

Throughout the centuries the original castle replacing an even older Gothic fortified settlement had undergone numerous reconstructions until it attained its present late-Barque form. The chapel with an ornamental sculpture of a Bethelehem scene made of melted crystal dates to the same period. Accommodated at the chateau is a museum with collestins of glass artefacts made by leauding Czech artists. Selected items are for sale at the annexed glass-art gallery.
http://turisturaj.cz/

Bezdružice Chateau

The newly renovated Baroque Kamenný dvůr Chateau offers stylish accommodation in the chateau rooms, experience cuisine, luxurious pampering and a large chateau park.
http://czechtourism.com/